Decay
by Lazarus Saturday
Summary: A series of murders in the University of East Hoenn leads David Estok, medical student, to Professor Coolidge and his Project Starfish. As he solves the case, a certain fact comes to light: the murderer is not alone. Written in the style of a television series!
1. Episode 1: Midnight Murders

**Decay**

**Episode 1: Midnight Murders**

David Estok glanced at the bowl of popcorn on the couch next to him, the smell of butter drifting up from it blotting out his other senses. He would not eat it. The only reason it was there was because of his stupid sister.

He had diabetes. Plain and simple; that was how the doctor said it. David's health problems stem not from eating sweets, but rather from his father's genes. It didn't make his life too difficult, but it meant he could not eat as much of the sugar donuts and tarts he loved the taste of. The popcorn was probably caramel; his sister would do that.

Tomorrow was a big day for him. He was going into his second year at university, and he couldn't wait to get back to Professor Harper and the others. He longed to hold a scalpel in his hand and dissect a small animal, probably a frog.

He had one night to kill. It was too early to go to sleep, and he didn't have anything to do; the next best thing was sitting alone in his room, watching crappy B-rate movies until it was 8pm. The movies did take his mind off some things - particularly, the fact that the Medical Faculty had had its budget reduced for unknown reasons. _Guess I'll find out soon enough_, he thought.

Knock knock knock. The sound come from one of the windows in his house. He stood up, paused the image of the woman about to be eaten by a monster on the screen and walked over to the source of the noise. There was nothing there.

As he sat back down, there were the knocks again. This time it woke up his Furret, who was nestling by the sofa. The Furret stood straight up and looked around, alert. It then rushed to the window and made a squealing noise.

There was the sound of something hitting glass.

The window had a dark stain on it, one he could identified blindfolded. The bloodstain was in the shape of a handprint. He slid the window open, and in the dusk sky saw a limp body lying on the ground, covered in blood. It was a person - a woman, by her long hair, but he could not see what she looked like.

Her face had been sliced off.

* * *

><p>Officer Hendricks wasn't pleased with David's angry protests about not having killed the woman, and so only let him go at 11pm. It was another hour before he fell asleep at his house. And now he was standing shakily in front of Professor Harper, who was rattling on about new lab rules.<p>

The new set of students didn't look much. However, one boy caught David's eye: a lean boy with dark brown hair, the same colour dried blood would be. It was strange, blood being the first thing to come to mind.

The boy saw David looking at him, and turned away. David caught a glimpse of the name tag Professor Harper made everyone wear - his name was Eli Thomas.

"Professor," he said suddenly, cutting the older man off.

"What is it, Estok?" Professor Harper sounded annoyed, but he had known David for a year, and understood. The Professor's Hoothoot, however, seemed to glare at him.

"I heard we're going to get to take one of the students as an apprentice."

Harper's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes!" He rubbed his hands together, the lab rules forgotten. It didn't matter; they would go over it again anyway. "Thank you for reminding me, David. Would you like first pick?"

"No, thank you, Professor. I think Ellen would like to go first," he said. It was true. Ellen Mendel, David's friend of seven years (and his secret love interest) was itching to pick an apprentice. The second year was basically studying human anatomy, and the anatomy of a pokemon of your choice, so the students had a lot of free time on their hands.

Ellen bounced up and down like an excited kid. "I'll go with…I can't decide!" She paced up and down in front of the freshmen, who were lined up. Eventually she stopped at one boy with a blonde mop of hair. "What's your name?" she asked, somewhat aggressively. She wanted someone with confidence; David did not even have the guts to tell her about his feelings.

"Adam Hewitt, miss," he said.

Ellen smiled. The most perfect smile she was capable of. And David liked that. "Well, Adam, how would you like to be my new apprentice?"

Adam nodded eagerly. He took his place by Ellen's side, and now it was David's turn. "Let's see…" He walked up to Eli, and put a hand on the younger student's shoulder. "You." Eli didn't say a word, just stepped out of the line and with him.

The rest of the second-yearers took their time to choose their apprentice. David watched from a distance, but he was more focused on Eli. What was so special about the boy? He didn't know, but he intended to find out.

He was so lost in thought he didn't notice Ellen tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, want to go get ice cream?"

David froze. Had Ellen just asked him out? No, it wasn't; she had merely been asking as a friend. "Of-of course," he stammered. She just laughed.

* * *

><p>There wasn't a lecture in another two hours, and he was now standing at the entrance to the Chemistry Faculty. For what reason? One of the professors had called on him. The meeting point was here, at the new KlingKlang-shaped fountain in front of the building.<p>

"Ah, David!" said Professor Coolidge, stepping out from behind the double doors of the faculty. "I seem to be seventeen seconds late; sorry." He drew a device from his pocket. A PDA. "I'd like to ask for your help with the Starfish Project."

David raised an eyebrow. "And that is…"

"My team and I are trying to use Staryu and Starmie DNA to create a new drug, dubbed Regenerator, but we need your knowledge to be able to see if it works." Coolidge handed him the PDA. On it was a list of files related to the project. "If you could set up tests with Rattata, and hopefully humans, we can finish this in the next year."

"What's in it for me?"

"You get to go with us to pitch it to the World Council, and if it gets through, you'll be named as one of the creators of Regenerator. We can reduce death rates worldwide!"

David considered the idea. If he agreed, it would make him look better in everybody's eyes. But would he have as much time to spend with Ellen? And why would they choose a second-year student rather than someone close to graduating?

"Why me, Professor?"

Coolidge sat down on the fountain's edge. "What did you see last night, David?"

He froze. How did the Professor know about that? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I believe the murderer is someone in the team. Now stop denying it and help me!" The last two words were almost a shout. " He smiled. "Sorry, got a bit too frustrated there. We need someone from an outside faculty to find this guy. I can't trust any of the team members."

"Deal, then." Truth was, David wanted to know who was responsible for the murders. But he still couldn't understand how some murderer would be related to Project Starfish.

"Follow me."

David walked after him into the Chemistry faculty. The interior was a clean, white space - almost too clean, and he found himself cringing at the lack of dirtiness.

"You first time here?" asked Coolidge, opening a door to the stairwell.

"Yes, actually. Where are we going?"

Instead of going up, Coolidge went behind the stairs. He rubbed a finger on the wall, and to David's surprise, a keyhole appeared. Coolidge held up two fingers, both stained with dust. "Gel developed from Swalot slime. My Swalot, to be exactly. It has a special property: it takes on the appearance of whatever is mixed with it."

Now David saw why Coolidge had so much faith in developing Regenerator. If his team could synthesise something like the Swalot gel, Regenerator wouldn't be far away. For decades scientists all over the world had struggled to create what Coolidge's team did.

"The gel turns into a solid powder when enough heat is applied, here being me rubbing my fingers." Coolidge took out a golden key, which fitted perfectly into the keyhole. There was a quiet hum, and the whole wall split in half.

Behind David and Coolidge the wall slid closed, and one of the team members of Project Starfish rushed in to refill the keyhole with Swalot gel. Coolidge led David down to a small circular hub, tables arranged around a tank of Staryu and Starmie. On some of these tables were lab Rattata being injected with prototype versions of David guessed was Regenerator and on others were test tubes full of boiling liquid.

As they passed, each team member turned to Coolidge and gave a polite hello. David himself received inquisitive looks from the assembled students. Coolidge clapped his hands loudly, and the students stopped what they were doing.

"Alright, everyone. This is our new team member: David Estok. As I promised, here's a student from Medical. He'll help you conduct all the tests as well as analyse the Regenerator samples to see if they're too dangerous for humans. Remember: treat him as if you would treat one another."

There was a moment of silence, and the students lapsed into their hubbub of activity again, having registered David to their memories.

"David, come here," said Coolidge, walking up a small set of stairs to a small round door, right beside another metal door labeled 'Chemical Storage'. "We permit pokemon in this lab. Since you can't enter the building with one, use this service tunnel. It leads to the back of the lecture hall. Please make sure your Furret's content with the fact that we're testing on Rattata here, before bring him, okay?"

"How did you know I had a-," David began, but Coolidge's smile prevented him from speaking.

"I've been aiming for you since last year. I knew you'd be perfect for the Starfish Project from the start; I actually intended to recruit you next year, but because of the current circumstances I'm forced to do so right now. I'm sorry for the reason you're here."

"Professor, you don't have to apologise." David gave him a wide smile. "What I've seen so far is amazing. I'd love to work for you. I promise, I'll find the murderer and bring him to you."

"Aren't you late for a date, David?"

The memory of accepting to go get ice cream with Ellen flashed in his mind. Within seconds his face was beet red. He still had no idea how much Professor Coolidge knew about him. "Erm...I'll just...go…"

* * *

><p>"Estok, you're late." Ellen waved a cone of ice cream at him. "Where have you been? I've never known you to be ten minutes late. Five, yes, but ten? You've never done this before."<p>

David could practically feel his ego shrink two, three times. Ellen had that effect on him. "I'm sorry. One of the professors needed my help with something."

"Well, at least you're here." She sat down at a table. David followed suit. "Hey," she said, and he looked up. "I've something to tell you."

"W-w-what?" He was sure he was blushing again, even if the ice cream in his mouth took away the heat. This was the moment. And he didn't even have to make the first move.

"I'm the new Tourney host this year!" She clasped her hands together, delighted. David's face dropped with disappointment, but she didn't notice. "It's going to be great! I'll try to do better than Johan last year, but it's difficult to top the best...so, will you be my co-host?"

The last words snapped David out of his thoughts. "I'd love to!" he said before he could stop himself. Okay. Maybe this crush on her wasn't so healthy. Where would he find the time to help Professor Coolidge now?

"Thanks, David!" She threw her arms around him.

But he couldn't be happy. Helping both the Professor and Ellen would take up a lot of his time. That meant even less sleep. "Anything for you, Ellen," he whispered.

* * *

><p>It wasn't enough. The lab Rattata just kept <em>dying<em>. Humans, yes, that was the perfect solution. If Regenerator worked on humans, there would be no more testing required. But there was a problem. The drug wasn't perfect, and the humans died too. There had to be a solution. The new mixture of the drug - 50% more Starmie DNA - is done now. Alright...who's the next one?

* * *

><p>He woke up early. 5:30, to be exact. It was a habit he obtained from high school, where he had to bike really far away to not be late. Today it was a curse. all his muscles ached, and he was blacking out occasionally as he walked to the shower.<p>

The warm water refreshed him. It was like heaven, being awoken by the streams of water from the showerhead in the early morning, when the air was still chilly.

He put on a crisp white shirt with a silver necktie, and plain black trousers he'd had for years. They didn't seem to ever get too small for him. David drew the curtains of his dorm room aside, exposing himself to the warm orange light of the dawn. Every sunrise in Hoenn was beautiful, his mother had once said, and he couldn't disagree.

The cool morning air was quite fresh, despite the university being only aways from Lilycove city - maybe he'll go there sometime to get cooking supplies.

"Up so early, David?" Coolidge's voice came from down the corridor. David jumped, not expecting to see someone up this early. "I hope you're not going for your morning run, because Professors Hart and Frobisher are at it again."

"What are they doing?"

"They're trying to sneak a herd of wild Miltank into the campus. Last time I remembered that happened, someone had to catch, I don't know, half of them? The rest just ran away afterwards. It's not helping that they're getting it from the Safari Zone."

David just shook his head- nothing to say to that. "How's Project Starfish going?"

"We're making a lot of progress. Just yesterday, Ludlow discovered the presence of a strange enzyme in the Starmie core. We think it's what promotes the regeneration."

"I've a feeling that's not why you're here."

"Of course not. Follow me, please." He swung around on his right heel, lab coat blown by the wind.

The orange dawn finally elapsed into a blue morning, and he could hear the first students waking up in their dorms as he walked down the stairs. Coolidge was humming to himself a song David didn't recognise, and his steps made up a steady rhythm.

"Moo!" Miltank. Apparently one of the meddling professors had succeeded. David shook his head, following Coolidge back to the Chemistry building. The same procedures with the hidden doorway under the stairs were repeated, but this time the inside of the lab was dark and empty. Coolidge walked up to a large lever and pulled it down, causing the lights into the room to come on.

On one of the tables around the aquarium was a sheet of white cloth. And under the cloth was the distinctive shape of a body. Another victim.

With a flourish the sheet on the body was pulled off by Coolidge, and David came face-to-face with the ice cream shop clerk who had taken Ellen's orders yesterday. He didn't even know the man, but felt a pang of guilt, knowing he was probably one of the last people to see him alive. "Why aren't the police involved?"

"They are. But one of the officers told me that if they were to get involved, the killer would get away." He saw David's shocked face, and continued, "I know, it's stupid. They couldn't just send someone undercover, couldn't they? No matter. We can solve this ourselves."

"How did he die?" David asked, putting on a glove and running it over the body. It was still slightly warm. "There's no sign of trauma; it looks like he was alive one moment and dropped dead the next." He put on another glove and flipped the body over. There were two puncture wounds on the back. "Ah, sorry, jumped to conclusions too fast. Can you analyse this liquid?" he asked, pointing at the clear substance leaking out of the puncture wounds.

"Done. It's the enzymes Ludlow discovered; a concentrated solution's been injected into him."

"You work fast, professor. If you know how he was murdered, why would you need me?"

Coolidge pulled the sheet back over the body. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I brought you here now so you can see the potential of Regenerator."

"And that is…"

"This body was found seven hours ago."

He stood in stunned silence. David touched the corpse again. Yup, it was warm. Seven hours? No was… "How is that possible?"

"I've told you, David, we're coming close to creating Regenerator. The enzymes force the cells inside the body to keep on respiring even if its technically dead, hence the heat. But that little gap between success and failure is going to take a long time to cross. In that space of time, a hundred murders might occur, before we find the right formula. We're the only ones who can stop this."

"Is there no other way…?" he whispered. Who would be next? Ellen could be the next target, for all he knew. The killer had to be stopped. But how would he do that? One of the corpses was in police custody and the other had too little evidence to derive from. The horrible dawned on him: he would have to wait for the next murder in order to figure out a pattern. That meant allowing the killer to make another move.

Professor Coolidge pushed the table away from him. "We can't be certain yet, but if I'm right, there'll be another kill soon. He or she will probably make their move tonight, or the next night. coming so close to success will just motivate them."

David was lost in thought. A million things ran past his mind, none of them making sense. Still, he searched for a pattern. Something unique flashed by ,and he mentally grabbed it. Of course. How could he be so stupid? "Why wasn't he mutilated?" he asked suddenly, pointing to the corpse. "The woman had most of her facial features sliced off. He's relatively unharmed."

Coolidge's eyes widened more than Professor Harper's Hoothoot. "You're right. Why did the killer leave him unharmed?"

The truth was right there in front of him. "Who found the corpse?"

* * *

><p>The hidden lab turned into a hub of activity once again, with more and more testing going on. Professor Coolidge had wheeled the table away an hour ago, to prevent the students from seeing it, and had told David to resume attending his lectures.<p>

He had one exactly in a few minutes. He skimmed over the stone path to the lecture hall, constantly checking his watch. Almost running late, he burst into the hall, to find Ellen glaring at him.

"Where have you been this time? Sit down; we're about to start. And you really don't want to miss this one." She sauntered away, David still panting from running.

He took the seat next to her, his notebook out and ready. But he couldn't concentrate on the subject at hand. His mind was still prodding at the different possibilities of the murderer's identity. It was in the middle of the night, and the first person who found the body was, in fact, Adam Hewitt. There was simply no way Adam could have done it - he had hardly any medical experience, and wasn't even aware that Project Starfish existed.

"David?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. The lecturer was still going on about the bad habits of the students. "Sorry, Ellen, I was thinking about something."

"Well, if you don't stop, you're not going to pass second year." She opened her notebook and prepared to jot down the lightning-fast speech of the lecturing professor's.

Yet his mind drifted. If not Adam, then did Adam see someone? He made a mental note to ask Ellen's apprentice when he saw him. "Alright, I'll have to do this afterwards then," he wondered aloud, not realising the lecture had started.

The student sitting on the row behind him shushed him. David turned to say sorry to the golden-haired boy.

Ellen was now jotting down details, but David's notebook was empty. He could write it all down later - his memory was that good. For now, he had to find who the murderer was.

* * *

><p>The afternoon was warm, to say the least. His Furret curled around his shoulders, purring softly as he walked through the park. David stopped at the edge of the lake in the middle of the park to look at his own reflection.<p>

There was a sniffing sound, and suddenly Furret leapt from his shoulders and into the river, grabbing a Magikarp. He watched it sink its teeth into the fish, and slowly eat parts of the Magikarp, smiling with delight.

"Fur!" it purred again, climbing up his body and onto his shoulders. He rubbed its head. Once per week, Furret would do the same thing. Once the guys at the Lilycove Tech built a working translator, he'd be able to understand his pokemon better. It wasn't if Furret couldn't learn the human language, but it merely didn't have vocal chords to do so.

He picked up a stone and lobbed it into the lake. It made a small splash in the lake, near the centre where the bridge across was; the lake was in the shape of a pokeball.

David thought about his one and only crush, Ellen, and how she sparkled everything inside him, how she managed to subdue him anytime with just a smile, and her temper. "Soon, I'll be the luckiest guy on Earth," he said aloud.

"Yes, I hope you'll be," said someone from behind him. "And yes, I know who you're talking about. I can tell from the way you look at her." Adam, Ellen's apprentice, joined him at the lakeside. "That your pokemon?" he asked, indicating the Furret that was snoozing against David's shoulder.

"Yes. What's yours?" David asked. "Do you have a pokemon?"

Adam shook his head. "One day I will. Not this day. I don't think I'll have enough time to take care of it and study at the same time." He yawned. "You asked me here?" Adam smiled slyly...wait, was he gay?

"I don't swing that way, you know," David said, just in case. Adam just laughed. "Anyway, I know that Professor Coolidge told you to stay quiet about the body - I guess he's told you that you can tell me?"

"Yeah, he did. I found the body in the back of the Archeology building. Was the ice cream shop clerk - don't know why anyone would want to kill him."

"Did you see anyone else while you were there?"

"One of the Chem students were trying to get a fossil pokemon done for them, so he was up quite late. He walked out the back door minutes after I saw the clerk."

"Describe him to me, Adam," David said, looking into his eyes. That guy was from Chem. And possibly a part of Project Starfish as well. Not to mention that he might have come back to pretend to find the body. "I need to know exactly what he looks like."

"Well, he's got brown eyes and blonde hair, but it was dark and I couldn't see the rest of him."

"That's not helpf-" He froze. "Oh, shit."

Adam looked at him inquisitively. "What's the matter?"

Blonde hair. Brown eyes. He'd met him just an hour ago. "Thanks for the help, Adam. You can go now."

Adam shrugged and walked away without a word.

* * *

><p>David headed for the Chemistry faculty. There was an hour to go until the next lecture, and it was more important anyway. He walked under the stairs, after dropping Furret off at the counter.<p>

David put his finger on the part of the wall where the keyhole supposedly was, and rubbed. The friction from the rubbing and his body heat caused the Swalot slime to turn to a crumbly powder, and the keyhole appeared.

Problem was, he had no key.

Not knowing what else to do, he knocked three times. No response. He knocked again, three quick knocks, three slow knocks and another three quick knocks. SOS.

The wall split open, and he came face-to-face with Coolidge, who was grinning like an idiot. "We've nearly done it!"

"Sorry, not the time," he said, pushing the Professor aside. He could apologise for that later. David walked down the stairs to the hub, eyes scanning the room. He spotted the blond boy from the lecture standing idly, watching a centrifuge spin.

David walked up to him. "Can we talk?"

"I'm busy," the blonde boy said, looking bored. "Go away."

David leaned in closer. "I know you were the one who injected the ice cream shop guy with experimental Regenerator, so shut up and get into the chemicals room."

Having no desire for his intentions to be revealed, the blonde boy complied. He opened the door to the chemical storage and walked inside the chilly room.

"Tell me your name," demanded David.

"George Blunchuss." He looked totally innocent. Did he get the wrong person? It was unlikely, as there were no other blonde boys in Project Starfish.

"Why did you do it?"

Blunchuss responded by grabbing a chemical bottle and flinging it at David. He sucked and the bottle smashed into the wall behind him, spilling its deadly contents onto the floor.

When he looked up, George rammed into him, knocking him over, and opened the Chemical Storage door. He stood up and exited the cold room. Coolidge and the other students looked at him in awe. He looked at the professor. "I got him," he breathed. "Where did he go?"

Everyone pointed at the door to the exit tunnel.

David swore, and ran up the stairs the other way. He would have to intercept George. At the counter he picked up Furret, who was playing with the receptionist. "We have work to do," he told it, and rushed out the door.

Outside, the sky had gone gloomy and light drops of rain was drizzling around him. The lecture hall wasn't so far away, but as the tunnel was shorter, he had to hurry. Across the roads of the university campus he sprinted, his foot mshing grass, dirt, concrete.

He swung around the corner of the lecture hall, getting into the back. Furret leapt from his shoulder, a fierce expression on its face...but the backyard of the the lecture hall was empty. The door to the secret tunnel hung open.

Blunchuss had escaped.

Wait, no. He could still be around. The logical decision would be to head for the entrance to the university, only two kilometres away. David ran in the direction. As he neared the entrance, the rain stopped, but a mist shrouded the world, reducing his visibility to a few metres.

A ball of energy flew straight into him, knocking the breath out of him and sending him sprawling into the grass. A figure loomed over him. Blunchuss. "I thought you'd be better at this. Did Coolidge bring you in to catch us?"

George had said ""us". There was more than one of them. "You're not too good either, George."

"What are you talking about?" He looked angry.

"That!" David shouted, and rolled out of the way as Furret's thunderbolt streaked at Blunchuss. He yelped and dodged, earning only a small shock.

"Energy ball!" the killer shouted. His unseen pokemon unleashed a green orb that missed furret by millimetres.

"Furret, fire punch!" he had already guessed the grass typing of Blunchuss' pokemon, and Furret leapt, flaming paw outstretched, at the origin of the last attack.

A Gloom toppled out of the mist, dazed by Furret's fire punch. "Again!" David shouted, and furret crashed into the grass type, knocking it out.

George threw another pokeball, releasing a Tirtouga. "Aqua jet!"

The turtle sped at Furret at a high speed, knocking David's pokemon aside. "Use thunderbolt again!"

Furret's fur crackled with electricity, but Tirtouga slammed into it again, dissipating the charge and knocking Furret to the ground. "Use rock tomb!" Blunchuss practically screamed.

There was no escape. Furret was stunned, and there was no way he could save his pokemon. David drew out Furret's pokeball, ready to recall him and let George escape.

"Sludge bomb!" called someone from the mist. A ball of goo flew straight at Tirtouga and knocked it unconscious. "Swalot, use swallow!"

A massive purple blood rolled out of the mist and enveloped Blunchuss, who was staring in shock in the direction of the new voice. He struggled, but it was useless. The Swalot swallowed him whole.

Professor Coolidge walked into David's area of visibility. "One second too late and your Furret's done for." he said. "Swalot, spit him out, please."

The purple pokemon made a convulsing noise, and George Blunchuss tumbled out, clutching a strange pokeball. "You can't stop us, even if you tried," he croaked.

David knelt down beside him. "You said there were more of you. Who are they?"

Blunchuss laughed, and said, "Selfdestruct."

"Shit! Furret, get out of there!" Both trainer and pokemon ran as far away from George on the ground as possible, Swalot being recalled by Professor Coolidge. The "pokeball" David saw earlier spun around, revealing a face. It began to crackle with blue lightning, and when it reached its peak, the Voltorb exploded, taking Blunchuss with it.

* * *

><p>"You okay, David?" Ellen asked, rushing to his side. He was lying in his bed. Apart from a few bruises inflicted by Gloom's energy ball he was relatively uninjured.<p>

"I'm fine," he said, sitting up. His dorm room was colder than normal - the heater was broken, but it was fine.

"What happened out there?" She was so worried, and David appreciated that. Should he tell her about Project Starfish? There would be no harm, right? No - the people going after him would probably come for her if they knew. He had to keep it a secret. "I don't remember. I was knocked unconscious."

Ellen nodded and embraced him. The next ten seconds were the best and worst of his life at the same time. He was glad to be with Ellen, but at the same time, there were things he didn't tell her. That could be a problem later.

He looked over at Furret, snoring softly on the couch, and promptly fell asleep with Ellen in his arms.


	2. Episode 2: Rendition

**Episode 2: Rendition**

_Dum, da-dum, da-dum-da-dum-da-dum!_ The stick weaved through the air, the conductor's perfect gestures leading the assembled musicians to a crescendo, and crashing back down again. Around the inside of the opera house - designed exclusively so that the sounds would properly reflect off its walls - rows upon rows of audience sat, both student and professor.

David Estok was on the fifth row from the front, next to Ellen, quietly watching the orchestra. It was three weeks after George Blunchuss was revealed as the murderer, and there had been no further murders. His mind was currently on other things. The fragile relationship between him and Ellen, for instance.

It was their first date. In the past weeks, David had only just mustered up the courage to ask her out; or at least, he thought he did. He just hoped that hour of dating tips with Adam helped. What was that Adam said? "Be yourself, David," was what he told him.

"Be yourself my ass," muttered David, glancing warily at Ellen, who was enjoying the concert. How on Earth was she listening to this stuff? He held back a yawn and put a fake smile on his face. Sooner or later this thing would be over.

The conductor, with his powerful arm movements, brought the stick down. The brass players, sitting alternated with multiple Exploud, gave out a low note, one which signaled the end of the song. The audience clapped heartily, with the exception of David.

Ellen grabbed his hand. A shock went through his spine, more powerful and hair-raising than that one time Furret accidentally unleashed a thunderbolt on him. "Thank you so much David," she said, smiling that perfect smile of hugged him again, and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "It's getting late now: shouldn't we be getting back to the dorms?"

"You're right," he replied half-heartedly, but blushing. Something was wrong. There was something out of place. He did know how he felt it, but there was definitely something bad coming. The hairs of his arms stood up again, this time not because of Ellen, but because of static in the air.

Before anyone could move, there was the sound of an explosion and the lights went out. David's hand immediately snapped out for Ellen's in the darkness and he succeeded in grabbing her wrist.

"Sorry! Generator must've exploded or something!" Professor Hart shouted. "Hey, what's that…?"

A blue orb of light was floating above the very last row, pulsing a little. It dipped lower, and moved towards the stage. There it hovered briefly, before becoming brighter. A blast of blue electricity arched toward the performers on the stage, narrowly missing the lead violin Kricketune. An attack David recognised as zap cannon.

The glowing pokemon repeatedly blasted consecutive zap cannons at the people on the stage, Blue lightning sending people into a panic. The exploud leapt at it, trying to land a hit, but it hovered out of reach every time.

Suddenly, there was a gravelly roar, and a larger shape came crashing onto the stage. In the dim light David couldn't see what it was, and he was trying to get the hell out of the carnage. The unseen pokemon tore a large chunk of solid wood out of the stage, and threw it at the blue orb.

There was another explosion, but this time the blue light was gone. The generator came back on - Professor Hart had successfully restored the power - and the lights flickered on. People stopped running around, and on the stage was an Armaldo, Professor Coolidge standing beside it and grinning like an idiot.

* * *

><p>There was a line in front of the opera house, coming out of the building. Police officers stood idly by, two of them checking the students one-by-one for any potential suspects. A boy with chestnut hair was roughly pulled out of the line, and a pair of policemen took him away.<p>

Damn, David thought. What if they suspected him? There were still three more people to go before it was his turn. At least he didn't have an electric pokemon.

"Next!" Before he knew it, it was his turn. The policeman glared at him through dark shades, even though it was night time. David stepped forward arms out the sides so the guy could pat him down. It took about seven seconds.

The policeman looked at a list, and for a moment David wondered what would happen if he didn't fulfil it. Would he be thrown in prison with that other boy? A few moments of list reading became minutes. He was sweating now. If the list was that long, it was likely he was on it.

"What's your name?"

"David Estok, sir." He tried to keep a cool head, but then began panicking. Something was off.

"Well," the policeman said, frowning. "You're clear."

A sigh of relief later, and David walked out of the line. The police Herdier took one sniff at him, and sat back down by its owner. He saw a messenger run in from inside the building, his Mightyena trailing behind and growling excitedly. He went to each one of the checkpoint officers, and asked them a question.

What's that about? he thought to himself. Had they found the perpetrator already?

All hell broke loose when the officer who had screened David talked to the courier. His eyes widened in an instant, and he spun, pointing a finger accusingly at David.

In seconds the Herdiers took him down. The messenger's Mightyena put a paw on his chest, baring its teeth. "I didn't do anything!" he protested, but nobody listened.

A hundred pairs of eyes watched as he was dragged away. But most importantly, Ellen was watching from a distance with her mouth agape.

* * *

><p>"Ah, shit," he muttered under his breath, as he was put into the office of Inspector Hendricks, who was shaking his head. "Please, I didn't do it this ti-"<p>

"Shut up!" Hendricks shouted, slamming a palm down on the table. "You've no excuse, you know. Just sit there and wait for the second suspect! Once was enough, but twice! Who the hell are you, trying to destroy your own university?"

David wanted to retort. He wanted to talk back against the asshole holding him against his own, free will that Hoenn so blatantly advertised. But it was a rhetorical question, so he needn't put himself in more trouble than he currently was in. And so he waited.

David wanted to retort. He wanted to talk back against the asshole holding him against his own, free will that Hoenn so blatantly advertised. But it was a rhetorical question, so he needn't put himself in more trouble than he currently was in. And so he waited.

A minute later, the boy he'd seen dragged out earlier was sitting next to him, a look of total outrage on his face.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Hendricks whistled, and an officer walked in with some scrap metal on a tray.

No...it was a Magnemite, a shiny one at that. When the other boy saw it, his eyes widened. "Oh, no," he whispered. Hendricks took the opportunity to lean in close to his face.

"I'm guessing it belongs to you, yes?" It wasn't a question, but rather a demand. "Tell me, boy, why would you attack the university?" When there was no reply, he added, "If you admit to your crimes, Craig, we might let you out in only a few months."

Craig was silent, considering Hendricks' deal. But admit to murder? That was not a good sign. "What's the other option?"

"Extradition."

There was a long moment of silence. Extradition? And to think they were going to do it to students...David thought it had been reserved for terrorists.

"That's not my Magnemite," said Craig slowly. "Mine is currently in my dorm."

"Well, too bad," said the Inspector, waving his hand in dismissal. "My men have searched your room, and there is no sign of the shiny Magnemite anywhere. So now either you're lying...or it belongs to you." He pointed a crooked finger at David.

David flinched. "Why am I even here? I don't have a Magnemite."

"Forensics say your DNA is all over the generator. You were the one who sabotaged the opera house. I'm giving you the same deal here."

No he couldn't give in. He knew full well it wasn't him who did it. "Someone must've planted it there."

"Very well, you're both going for the extradition, I presume?" He activated the intercom in his desk. "Officer, please escort the suspects to Sergeant Halberg's quarters, please. Tell him it's extradition." He took his finger off the button. "Have fun with the Sergeant." There was a sadistic smile plastered on Hendricks' face.

"I swear, I didn't do it!" David screamed at him, but it was no use. One shake of a head from Craig and he knew there was nothing he could do. "You got the wrong guy!"

But Hendricks wasn't listening, and the officer outside led them towards an office at the end of the corridor. Towards their doom.

* * *

><p>"David, we gotta get out of here," said Craig from the other corner of the dark cell. It had been lights-out three minutes ago, and neither of them were too keen to fall asleep. Both were still thinking of ways to escape their current confinement.<p>

"Tell me about it," said David, running his hands over the smooth concrete wall. His palms hurt from the knife wounds on them, but he persisted. The wall was totally smooth, just a single slab on concrete with no way out. He sighed and sat down.

The sound of jingling keys alerted him. David tired to see out into the dark corridor, but there wasn't enough light. The sound came closer, and David wondered if it was a trick. Another psychological experiment by Sergeant Halberg? The ones he had performed didn't break them, but David suspected that if this was, it would.

"Psst," someone whispered. "David, Craig, you two in there?"

David grabbed the bars. It could be a trick, but right now he didn't care. "Here! Over here!" he whispered back. A figure walked in front of the cell, the same stocky build as Halberg. He had fallen for it. It was all a trick

"Klefki, open the door, please." The sound of the jingling was revealed to be Klefki, with more keys on it than any Klefki David had ever seen. It sorted through its assorted instruments, and came up with one, which inserted into the cell door lock with a click.

David ran out of the cell to see who it was that had rescued him. But it wasn't Professor Coolidge's face that was peering into the cell - it was the hawk-like features of Professor Hart's face. "Professor?" he said. Hart turned around and saw him.

"Who else is in the cell?"

"A boy called Craig. I think he was framed by the killers for owning that Magnemite." Hart's brow furrowed at the mention of Craig's name. David decided to continue. "I was framed, too. They said they found my fingerprints all over the generator. You were there too, Professor."

"I know! As I recall, my boy, there was no such thing! They found no fingerprints - even said it was likely that a pokemon did it."

Ah, so there it was. The police were likely under the authorisation of someone else. Could the killers be that powerful? He doubted it, but it was still a possibility. Klefki suddenly began to jingle violently, and David looked at it. It pointed all of its keys towards the end of the corridor, where a flashlight beam was wavering closer.

"Who's there?" came a voice. "If you're still up I'll get Halberg to have another round with you."

Hart put a hand on David's shoulder. "Get your friend, and let's get out of here."

David shook his head. "He can't walk - got his toes sliced up pretty bad by the sadist here. We need to get rid of that guard."

"Klefki, use dazzling gleam," Hart whispered. The professor's pokemon floated to the corner, where the guard appeared. A bright pink light shone from the pokemon, and before the guard could yell out Hart landed a hard right hook to his face. He shook the hand. "Damn, that hurt," he whispered. "Let's get out of here."

The professor and David helped the injured Craig up to the roof - three times they had to pause for patrol to pass by. On the rooftop, there was a dragon waiting for them, it's body blue but its head red. "Druddigon, fly this boy to the academy." The dragon nodded, and draped a now-asleep Craig over his back. "Get him to Coolidge - don't let anyone see you."

The large, bulky pokemon took off, leaving the pair along on the rooftop. "How are we going to get back now?" David asked. He just hoped Hart had another pokemon that could fly.

"Watch!" the professor said. He moved behind one of the air-conditioning units on the roof, and pulled out a large basket, like one from a hot air balloon. Except there wasn't such a balloon in sight. Professor Hart tossed a pokeball into the air, releasing a bulbous pokemon that floated in the air.

The Drifblim wrapped its "arms" around slots in the basket, and Hart got inside. "Come on, no time to waste!"

David got into the basket as well, feeling Drifblim's swaying grip on it. At least he wasn't airsick. The ride went smoothly, albeit slowly, and after a minute the university was in sight. The buildings were all dark, save for the radio tower, which he already knew broadcasted all night.

Professor Hart's Drifblim landed on the small field behind the Archeology faculty, the basket softly touching the glass. David climbed out, and immediately tried to open the hatch that led to the Project Starfish HQ. He stopped himself from revealing its location to Professor Hart just in time.

"Don't worry, I'm part of it too," Hart said, pulling the hatch open himself. "I think you'll be surprised with the actual size of this project."

He followed Hart through the tunnels, and in no time he emerged into the hub area, next to the chemical storage. No wonder Blunchuss had taken so little time to escape - the tunnel was essentially an escape route, designed to evacuate personnel in case of emergencies. That reminded him: what did this place use to be before Coolidge took over? A medical research lab didn't simply have a shortcut for escape.

Coolidge was tending to Craig, who was sitting on a couch he had dragged over, with Druddigon standing in the corner. The other boy was now awake, and wincing every time Coolidge did something to his feet.

"Sebastian," Hart said, making Coolidge turn around. "We have to move these two out. The other students will see them and that'll be the end of it."

Coolidge pointed to a door David had never entered before. Hart recalled his Druddigon, and opened it to reveal a well-furnished room complete with two beds and a television set. Professor Hart led David to a chair and began dressing his wounds, despite seemingly not having any medical experience.

Soon afterwards Hart was done and Craig was delivered onto the bed. "He should be fine tomorrow - just don't try to make any noise when the rest of the students come here. Get as much rest as you can," Coolidge said, before bidding them a goodbye and returning to wherever it was that he lived.

Professor Hart did the same and said he had to get to the Archeology building to blast some rocks.

David laid down on his own bed, thinking of his future now. He couldn't go see Ellen. If he did, he would have to tell her everything - but would she believe him? He glanced at the bedside clock. 2.03AM. _Curse my own habits_, he thought, and fell asleep, knowing full well that 5.30 would be when he woke again.

* * *

><p>It was eight in the morning, and luckily David didn't have a lecture on that Sunday. He didn't want to miss all of the important stuff. Craig was still snoring in the background, and David boredly flicked through the different channels on the television. At one point he thought he saw a documentary about Furret, but it quickly became clear that the programme was talking about wild pokemon in general.<p>

The rest of the channels were boring, so he switched them off. He turned on the radio instead, tuning it to the university's own station. "Hello, folks, this is EHU FM, and I'm Jared Pulavski." Came over speaker just in time. _Great_, he thought, leaning back on the sofa, _I love this show._

"Lately I've been receiving requests about the nature of the pokemon Breloom, some students claiming that they have seen one walking outside on the campus grounds. But before that, I'd like to bring you out report of last night's carnage."

Now that was interesting. David turned up the volume, hoping the students outside wouldn't hear. "The attack on the opera house has been determined by Lilycove police forces to be that of a Magnemite's and a shiny one at that. So far, two suspects have been arrested - Craig Anderson and David Estok. The situation with these two students are as of yet unconfirmed, but it is believed they are being interrogated.

"Anyway, back to the Breloom thing. I've personally seen it walking outside the radio station, but the moment I pop out to photog-"

"Someone on your mind?" asked Craig, who had just woken up. "Don't give me that look. It's obvious from your face."

David turned off the radio. "I just want to get back to someone, that's all. But because of all this-" He waved his arm around the room. "-I can't go back now. She's going to misunderstand, I'm sure."

Craig looked deep in thought.

"You thinking about someone, too? Who's she?"

Craig smiled. David thought he'd seen someone smile at him like that before...ah, yes. Adam. "I actually prefer men to women," said Craig. "Sorry if that disgusts you-"

"It's fine. I got another gay friend." David thought back to all his friends. What was Ellen thinking right now? And Eli; would that guy be fine? To tell the truth he hadn't seen Eli in a week now. He should get used to having an apprentice.

The door to their room opened, and in strode Coolidge with a fat folder in his hands. "Got this stuff off the police," he said, closing the door behind him so the Project Starfish students wouldn't see inside. "Don't ask how. I got these for the two of you as well." He produced two pokeballs, and tossed them on the floor.

Furret climbed up David's body and curled around his neck, while Craig's shiny Magnemite floated by his shoulder. "Professor, he's trained to lock himself inside the safe. How did you get him out?" Furret nuzzled against his cheek.

"It's her last name - of course I know," Coolidge said dismissively. "Anyway, I've, erm, liberated this from the officer in the Chem building. Thought you two might want to see it." He opened the photo and drew out two photographs. "These were taken by CCTV camera right before an electrical pulse shut them down."

One picture was of the generator room, with its multiple cables strewn across the insulated floor. The other was from another angle, the same room, but this time there was something in the corner. It wasn't very clear, but David thought it looked like a large spider. "Is that a Galvantula?" he asked nobody in particular.

"I believe the owner of that Galvantula is responsible for the attack at the opera house," Coolidge concluded, handing them another sheet of paper. "His name is Javier Worlesky, but problem is, he doesn't have a Galvantula."

David held up a hand. "Sorry, professor, but how are you pinning him responsible if he doesn't even own a Galvantula?"

"Well, David." The professor drew his phone out from his pocket. "This is proof."

He took the phone and looked at the video Coolidge had opened. It was from one of the CCTV cameras, inside the generator room. For a while, nothing happened. Then he saw an arc of electricity snake towards the generator, and the lights went off. "I don't understand. That's just the Galvantula."

"Replay it again, and just before the lightning strikes, look at the left side of the screen." David complied.

He rewound the video up to the point seconds before the Galvantula launched its attack, and paused. True to Coolidge's words, there was someone standing almost out of frame. He had messy brown hair and wore a black glove with a white trim on one hand. "That's all you need to pin him responsible? The police aren't really going to take this seriously."

"That's why I need you and Craig to get him to admit to it. Or find his Galvantula, whichever comes first."

David shook his head. "There's something I have to do first."

* * *

><p>He stood in the rain with his hoodie up, and waited. The small pocket radio he had with him was still spewing news about his escape from police custody, and telling all students to be aware of him and Craig.<p>

He sighed. Nothing was ever easy in life, he knew, but what had he done to get framed like this? It was so unfair, but that was life.

It had been forty-five minutes and still no sign. Where was she? He spotted a blonde walking towards him, her raincoat swinging in the wind. David stepped out of the niche in the building he was in, and put a hand on her shoulder.

Ellen nearly screamed, only being stifled by her recognition of David. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?" she asked, eyes wide with terror. "I saw those people drag you off and where did they take you? I don't know what to think anymore-"

David placed a finger to her lips, stopping her panicked rambling. "I can't explain right now, Ellen, but I need an answer from you. Is that alright?"

She nodded.

David took a deep breath. "You're going to hear a lot of things about me - maybe you've already heard some - but I need you to trust me that they're mostly not true. I've been framed, Ellen, for someone else's crimes, for reasons I don't know yet. But we can fix this. We can stop all this madness. So here's the question: do you trust me?"

As an answer she pulled him close and locked their lips together. David was rooted to the spot. What had just happened? His mind was reduced to a bumbling mess in seconds, as he melted into their kiss.

"Of course I believe you, you idiot," she said, backing away. "You were with me when the generator blew! Why would I not trust you?" She put her hands on her hips. "Now, what can we do to get the real person responsible?"

"There's a boy called Javier in the Engineering faculty - I think he might be the one who overloaded the generator. He supposedly used a Galvantula, but there isn't anything to prove he owns one. I just need evidence to pass the blame onto him."

Ellen held up a palm. "Hold on, how do you know all this?" she asked sternly. "There's something you're not telling me."

He grabbed her hands. They were soft, but firm - just like the Ellen he had known since junior high school. Yet he couldn't tell her. If he did, she'd be their next target. "Just trust me. I have to go." He turned and ran.

"David!" she shouted, but he didn't look back. _It's for your own safety, Ellen_, he thought. _Stay safe._

* * *

><p>"I've asked some of my prefects to go check out Worlesky's dorm room," reported Coolidge as he strode into the room around 10pm. "Nothing other than the pokeball with his Yamask in it. I don't see how he could have a Galvantula."<p>

David looked up from the textbook he was reading. "Then maybe that boy wasn't Javier?"

"No," said the professor confidently. "There's a report saying he was the first person in the area. It's got to be Javier."

"Then maybe it's someone else's?"

"I've considered that possibility," said the professor, scratching his chin. "But it all goes back to the Galvantula being under his control - there was no-one else at the scene."

"It could have been loaned to him," said David, but he knew it was a defeat for him. There was only one Galvantula on-campus, one belonging to Anna Ritt in Philosophy, and she had never met Javier before.

The body of Craig on the bed shifted as he rolled over to see the professor. "I think there's going to be a second attack," he said confidently. "In the first one, nobody was hurt, because that wasn't the point. The goal was to make themselves known - these people, whoever they are, will try again to scare everyone off the investigation. David being framed just tell us that they're part of a powerful organisation, and might even control the police." He stopped for breath. "My conclusion is that they'll try scare outsiders from investigating, while they keep the police clueless."

Craig had a point. David couldn't deny the fact that all that had more chance of happening than Anna giving Javier her Galvantula. "So what do you suggest we do? If they can pull the police's leash like that, we're no match for them."

"I never said you were wrong. I think you should have a look at Ritt's Galvantula, see if there's something wrong."

* * *

><p>Anna was sitting on her couch watching a detective drama movie and eating a bowl of sweets - yet she wasn't even a little plump. David closed the door behind him and lowered his hood. "I don't take kindly to mysterious strangers entering my room. Especially you." She pointed a finger at him. "I saw them drag you out of the line."<p>

David sat down next to her, cringing at the sight of the sweets. "And you're not surprised I'm here?"

"I heard the broadcast saying you escaped this morning. Jared isn't without information, you know? So what exactly do you want?" She crossed her arms. "You don't like sweets?"

"Diabetes," he replied, eyes sweeping the room. "Can't even eat sweet ice cream. A little is okay, but not too much. As for the escape, that doesn't need to be explained. What I want to know is about your Galvantula."

Anna held up a hand and rummaged through her handbag for a pokeball. She came up with one that had a lightning bolt on it. "Don't try to get him out - I've released him downstairs," she said when she saw him poised to throw it.

He put the pokeball down. "Then do you know a boy called Javier from Engineering?"

"I've never even heard of him," she said.

Liar, he thought. "Oh, really? Because we have a videotape of him using your Galvantula blowing the opera house generator up." He smiled confidently. If it was really Anna's he'd be free the moment the Galvantula was captured. With Coolidge's Armaldo, that wouldn't be difficult.

The lights flickered, and went out. David took a step backwards, nearly falling to the floor, and fumbled for his phone. He turned on the screen and used it as a flashlight. "What the-"

There was a loud boom from outside - something just exploded. Anna glared at him. "I told you it wasn't me."

"Well," he said. "Now I believe you."

* * *

><p>David and Anna crouched beside the entrance to the opera house, where the explosion had come from. Anna's flat shared the same generator with the opera house, and so did many other buildings in the area, causing a mass blackout.<p>

He spotted a person pressed flat against the base of the Kricketune statue, and tapped them on the shoulder.

Ellen turned around, startled. "David? What took you so long?" she asked, and then saw Anna. "Who's that?"

"She owns the Galvantula. If anyone can override however Javier's been controlling it, it's her." David pointed to a shadow heading towards the entrance from the side of the building. "And if I'm right, that's him right there."

They moved as a group towards the stairs, David taking the lead and Anna coming last. They ducked into the heavy oak doors and entered the dark hall. The group navigated through the pitch-black corridors, past a long corridor and the entrance to the backstage, until they came to the padded doors to the seats.

David put a finger to his lips and counted down from three. Before he could get to one, there was a shriek from inside. He fell to the ground clutching his ears. What the hell was that?

When the noise subsided Ellen kicked the door in, to see the glowing blue light from the first attack hovering in the air. Craig's Magnemite. Craig himself stood illuminated in a halo of light, standing over a bowed Javier. The downed boy was still holding his ears, but David couldn't see what was going on.

David saw Craig fall to his knees, and ran down the aisle towards the stage. He climbed up onto the wooden platform and nearly fell into the gaping hole in the stage Armaldo had created. He rushed over to Craig's body on the ground and put two fingers to his neck. _Thump thump_. His pulse was weak, but steady. He was going to fine. A second check-over showed Craig was unharmed. The question now was, how did he get here?

He turned to Javier, who was still clutching his ears. David now saw why: the boy's ears were bleeding, a red sticky stream of blood trickling between his fingers. His eardrums had been blown open - the result of the shiny Magnemite's screech attack at a close range.

"Help!" David shouted to the two girls. If he didn't get Javier to the hospital, his conditions could get worse. "We've got an injured student!"

Ellen did a brief check on Craig, and told Anna to take him to her apartment. She tensed suddenly, and looked up.

Javier's Galvantula clung to the ceiling, it's forelegs clicking against each other silently. It scurried to the wall and then down onto the stage, fur crackling with electricity.

David's Furret automatically popped out of its ball, charging up a thunderbolt itself, and leapt. The two pokemon wrestled on the stage, sending sparks flying all over the opera house. Their similar sizes made it an even battle, but it was clear that the Galvantula - though slow - was stronger than the quick Furret.

Then out of nowhere: "Shadow sneak!"

Galvantula hissed, and became a black blur that dashed around the opera house. In moments it was gone. David turned around to see Anna, who had given the order, smirking. "You!" he said quietly, out of breath.

Anna just gave a little wave, and the Galvantula shadow appeared to snatch her up. Then they were gone.

* * *

><p>"Craig was one of them," explained Coolidge to a tired David. They were sitting in Coolidge's spare room in the Project Starfish hub, two hours after the events at the opera house. "He changed his mind - quite luckily for us - and tried to correct his own mistakes. The result, you've already seen," he said, leaning back. "One thing's for sure though: sooner or later you're going to have to explain to Miss Halifax" - he indicated the room - "all this."<p>

Coolidge was right. Ellen had to know someday. But that day would not be today. He was far too tired for that. "I think I'm going to sleep until the police guys clear my record," he said. "I guess Javier admitted to everything?"

The professor nodded. "He might be deaf, but he wrote down a confession for us. As for Craig, he's going to be cleared too," he said with a little wink. "Goodnight, I suppose."

David laid his head down on the soft pillow and smiled. For now, he had all the time in the world.


	3. Episode 3: The Calm Before The Storm

**Episode 3: The Calm Before The Storm**

The hospital was quiet, due the lack of patients in the last four days. Lilycove was not a city where there were many accidents, let alone crimes, and it was one of the reasons Professor Jonathan Hart lived there.

Hart didn't teach the medical students, nor did he have any right to be in the building this late at night, but there was something he needed. He kept his back against the wall of the morgue and slowly moved over to the last table.

He grabbed the zip with his two fingers and drew it downwards, opening the body bag up. Yes. Just as he expected. He zipped the body back up and exited through a different door from the one he had entered from.

He made his way up the fire escape, and left the building via a service door that hadn't been used in years. Hart strode across the grounds of the university, pondering on what he had just seen, and entered the Archaeology faculty where his office was. Up the stairs and the second door on the left was marked with his name.

He took the sleeping Klefki out of his pocket, sorted through its keys and found the one for his office. As he inserted it into the lock on his door, there was a growling noise.

The air began to taste of soil, and Hart knew something was up. At an opportune moment he spun around...but there was no-one there. There was, however, a trail of dirt leading in from an open window.

The professor fished out his pokeball with his Druddigon in it. "Who's there?" he called.

No answer. Only a radio played from another room down the corridor.

Hart turned back to the office door, and then there it was again: a heavy breathing, the sound of a chest rising and falling...right behind him.

He threw Druddigon's pokeball, but it was knocked aside by something extremely fast; a hard something slammed into his chest, sending him flying against the door.

The last thing Hart saw that night were two sharp, red claws.

* * *

><p>"Where's Professor Coolidge?" he asked Harley, one of the boys working in Project Starfish. It had been three days since Coolidge was not seen on campus, but none of the professors were worried.<p>

"He always turns up in the end," Professor Harper had told him. David wanted to believe him, and did in a way, but there was something urgent he had to tell him. The 'something urgent', of course, was that he was going to tell Ellen about the Project.

"I haven't seen him either; tried the hospital yet?" Harley asked, not looking up from his microscope. David forgot how dedicated these students could be - and how Coolidge had selected them specifically for that.

"Actually, I think I'll go there now," he said, walking off. Before he could reach the door to the stairwell a young girl dashed in front of him.

"Could you please have a look at my tests on the Rattata? I think something's up," she said beaming. What was her name? David had already forgotten.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Kylie," she said, still smiling. David signed and took the reports from her hands, and walked out the sliding door into the Chemistry building.

Tucking the reports under one arm he jogged in the direction of the hospital, not even expecting to find Coolidge there. He came to a stop outside, where the ambulance was parked and its back open, with a person on a stretcher being led into the building.

He ran up to the closest person he knew: Eli. "Hey. What happened?"

He pointed to a girl with auburn hair standing by the stretcher. "Hannah over there found Professor Hart this morning outside his office; he's in pretty bad shape, and hasn't woken up yet." Eli walked over, David following. "From the feel of his chest multiple ribs are broken."

David switched the reports to under his left arm and ran his hand softly over Hart's chest as they walked through corridors. "You're right. A couple of them are broken. Good job, Eli," he said. "I think we're going to need an x-ray."

"On it," said his apprentice, and headed for Dr. Jensen's radiology room.

David continued with Hart's prone body until they reached the Emergency Response room, where Doctors Newman and Xavier were waiting to set his ribs back in place. Doctor Newman placed him on a bed and put one of her fingers in front of Hart's nostrils. She frowned, and put her ear to his chest.

In seconds her eyes widened. "His lungs have been pierced by the ribs," she informed them, calm as ever. "He's lucky it's only a tiny leak, or he'd be dead by now. Greg," she said to Dr. Xavier. "Scalpel."

Dr. Xavier handed her a sharp blade, and she cut open his shirt. Patches of skin around Professor Hart's chest were dark - internal bleeding. Dr. Newman ran the scalpel over his chest, and reached for the chest spreader.

It was an hour as David watched in silence. Dr. Newman performed the surgery cleanly, pulling the bone shards out of Professor Hart's lungs and setting them in their correct place. She then stitched him back up, and told Dr. Xavier to take him away.

David left with the operating table. His phone rang, so he picked it up. Ellen. "Hi."

"Where are you? You're late for the ice cream."

"Professor Hart's been injured. I'm at the hospital," he replied. Ellen gave an acknowledgement and hung up.

David entered the room where Professor Hart was admitted to, and sat down on a chair. His mind began to work. Who could have wanted to hurt Professor Hart? It was definitely one of the killers. On the topic of the killers, Anna Ritt still hadn't been found, and Javier still had to be interrogated.

Something in Professor Hart's coat pocket caught his eye. A notepad. David reached over and drew it out slowly from its place. For a moment he just stared at the leather cover. Should he open it? The contents could be anything, not just relating to the case.

No. It was his only lead, and he was determined not to lose it. He flicked through the pages until he got to the last, with a piece of paper slotted into it. Not just any piece of paper, but a toe tag from a corpse.

David turned it over to see the name of the corpse, but it was scribbled out by apparently Hart himself. Why would he do that? Everything just raised more questions. His only lead was the toe tag.

He left the room for the stairwell, and walked down into the basement. He opened a heavy door and flicked on the lights, revealing row upon row of metal tables, some with a person-sized black bag on them. David unzipped the first bag and checked the toes of the corpse. For a moment he thought it was the right corpse. Then he saw that this body's toe tag had been replaced by a more modern ankle tag.

Zipping the bag back up he moved onto the next corpses. All of them had either an ankle tag or a toe tag on. Except for the last one.

David stared at the last body in the morgue. It couldn't be a coincidence. Put his hand on the zipper of the body bag, whatever waiting below seemingly colder than the other bodies. Slowly, he drew the zip down.

Something touched the back of David's neck.

He cried out and turned around...but there was nothing there, only a flickering ceiling light. David took a deep breath and turned back to the body bag. He pulled the zip lower.

But there was no corpse, and the only thing he saw was a pile of meat, more animal than human, laid out in a humanoid shape. The corpse had been stolen.

He ran up the stairs onto the third floor, where he quickly rapped on Professor Harper's office door. The bearded man opened his door, and frowned at the sight of David. "What is it, Estok?" He asked in a drawl. "This better be important."

"It is, Professor," he insisted. "Somebody stole George Blunchuss' body."

* * *

><p>Fortunately, Professor Harper did not call the police. The actions of the Lilycove Police Department in the past week - falsely arresting and torturing David and another university student - did not get them any favours. He merely summoned Dr. Greg Xavier and ordered a forensics sweep of the morgue.<p>

David stood to the side as the two doctors discussed the possibilities of the thief's identity. "Sound like an angry relative who wants to give the deceased a proper burial," Dr. Xavier said, but Professor Harper was having none of it.

"Except Blunchuss only has a sister, and she's currently in Unova." Dr. Xavier opened his mouth to protest but Professor Harper raised a hand. "Just get me that sweep, Greg," he said.

The doctor nodded and left the room, leaving David alone with the professor and his Hoothoot. A defeating silence held for a few seconds, before Professor Harper asked: "Have you seen Coolidge anywhere around?"

"No, sir," he replied.

The professor and his Hoothoot shook their heads in unison. "Looks like that Toxicology lecture is going to be canceled. You have a free day today - why not take a breather and get these things out of your mine. The police have given you enough trouble last week."

"Thank you, sir," David said simply, "taking a breather" not being what he had in mind. He left the office and went down to the lobby.

She was waiting for him in front of Professor Hart's room, still clutching a stack of books. Ellen had always been the more hardworking and dedicated of the pair. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Have you seen Professor Hart?" he asked.

"Yes; his condition isn't serious, but I'm getting scared. What if whoever beat him up goes for you next?" It was a sound hypothesis. It probably was not a coincidence that a Project Starfish member was attacked. Considering his ordeals since he had started the second year four weeks ago, David wasn't about to throw away the possibility of him being next.

David pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sure they won't. Something else happened. Remember the Blunchuss boy who blew himself up?" She nodded. "Apparently someone just stole his body straight from the morgue. Professor Harper has Dr. Xavier investigating, but I've also got a lead."

"Who would steal that body?" Ellen's curiosity took over her worries.

"I've no idea, but if I'm right, the university doesn't have a butcher shop. We'll need to go into Lilycove." He smiled. "And since we have the whole afternoon to ourselves, would you like to get some dinner in town?"

Ellen punched his arm playfully. "Only if you pay."

"I can already feel my wallet getting lighter," he said fleetingly, causing Ellen to punch him again.

* * *

><p>While Ellen had volunteered to scout out a restaurant she had been wanting to try for some time, David decided to follow up on his lead. There were only two butcher's in town, one on the east side of Lilycove City and another by the docks. They were kilometers away from each other.<p>

David entered the one in the city, just in time to see the butcher bring her knife down on the Miltank carcass behind the counter. She turned and gave a greeting wave, before setting down the bloody cleaver on the counter with a loud _clang_. "Which part of the cow would you like? I just got this one twenty minutes ago; might be a little bit more expensive, but it's really fresh!"

"Sorry, but I'm not here to buy meat," he said. The butcher didn't seem to mind. "I want to ask about another customer who was here maybe yesterday, or last week. Has anyone recently bought a whole pile of steaks?"

She washed her hands under the sink. "I don't recall, and even if I do, what's it to you?"

He leaned in closer. "At the university someone stole a corpse and replaced it with enough meat to pass it off for a real thing in a body bag," he whispered.

She didn't look convinced. "That's a far fetched story as any. Maybe," she said, "If you buy some of this new cow the blokes in the back just brought in, I'll dig something up for you?"

It was not that he couldn't cook. He could and did so very well, and did it often at home. But not at the university: there was no time.

His phone rang. He apologised to the butcher and walked outside to pick up Ellen's call.

"I've found it!" she said excitedly. "Maurice's Marine Market on Swordfish Avenue. It's a market inside a restaurant, so you can buy the ingredients and have them cook it for you."

_Deus ex machina, _he thought. This was his chance to get two birds with one stone. "Do they sell steaks there?"

"We'll, they've got fish steaks, but according to the guy out front you're free to bring in your own ingredients."

"Thanks, Ellen. Say, let's meet there around 6 pm?"

She confirmed it and hung up. David was smiling to himself as he eased the butcher shop door open again. "Touché," he said to himself.

The butcher looked at him over the counter. "Decided yet?"

He nodded. As he spoke, her smile widened. "How much would a ribeye be?"

"From this cow it's 200 grams; it's 5 pounds per piece if you want a ribeye." She grabbed the cleaver and checked the Miltank's exposed ribs. "You want the biggest one?"

"That be nice," he said. "Oh, and, can I have a look at the list of clients from the past week?"

"Of course. Anything for a customer."

* * *

><p>Maurice's Marine Market was one of the most unique restaurants David had ever been in. There was an aisle - covered in a red carpet - stretching down the middle and separating into a curved T shape at the back. Along the back wall, there were different stalls selling fresh fish, as well as several other foods.<p>

Ellen had a table in the middle of the restaurant. She was tapping on her phone when she saw David approach. "This is the place I told you about," she said. "I heard you got some beef."

"Yes I do," he said, and put the plastic bag onto the table. "So, how does this place work exactly?"

"Well, you go and buy the fish or shellfish - I heard the Shellder's really good - and you tell one of the waiters what how you want them to cook it!" She pointed towards the side of the restaurants. "Toilets are over there."

A balding man dressed as one of the restaurant's waiters glided silently over to their table. He indicated the beef on the table. "Would you like us to cook that for you? Our head chef makes a good beef stew."

"That would be wonderful; thank you." The waiter bowed, took the meat and walked away. David got up out of his chair. "What else did you hear is good about this place? Other than the Shellder, I mean."

She got up as well. "Follow me." They walked to the market area, and Ellen led him to the closest stall to them. "Here," she said proudly, "is Qwilfish meat." On the slanted metal display were thick chunks of pale, white flesh.

David leaned down to look at it, but it didn't seem any different from any other meat. Until he saw the price tag. "Okay, now that is _way_ too expensive."

Ellen laughed. "I'm not going to order that, calm down. Qwilfish usually have a poison sac in their stomach, so that has to be removed. Good chefs can remove almost all the poison, and so your mouth tingles a little when you eat it. The skill required to actually make the dish is what makes it so expensive."

"Why does it feel like I've read this somewhere before?" he muttered. Oh, right. Professor Humbert's Toxicology class. Not that he could do those anymore - he had relocated to the Central Hoenn Liberal Arts College.

"Well, I don't know, but why don't we just buy our fish?"

"Good idea." He browsed through the different sea life on display, from Magikarp to Basculin. "I can't decide."

Ellen just laughed.

* * *

><p>With their dinner almost finished, David suddenly remembered the existence of the list of customers and what they had bought from the butcher's. "I need to use the bathroom," he said to Ellen, and walked away from the table.<p>

Inside the toilet he opened one of the stalls and got inside. David pulled out the list, and, not expecting to recognise any names skimmed through the items purchased. His eyes came to rest on the entry which said "120 pounds of pork". That was it. There were no entries with that much meat on the list. He glanced over to the name of the customer: Anna Ritt.

He blinked and look again. It was her. That meant that the body had been stolen before even before disappeared last week. No wonder they had been quiet for three weeks.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He saw the text from Ellen and replied that he had a stomachache.

Before he could put it away, another text came up. Eli had sent an image of Professor Hart's X-ray. On his phone he couldn't see anything clearly, but the attached e-mail said "Something's wrong; I need to see you quick."

He put the phone away and got out of the stall, back to his table. David had already finished his dual beef-fish dish, but Ellen only had. She stood up. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," he said, mind still on Eli's message. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>After a fresh shower, he met Eli at the hospital. His apprentice had his Houndour with him - not safe for medical practice but allowed anyway by Professor Harper. He handed David the x-ray image he had been sent.<p>

"I couldn't see the image on the phone; what did you want me to see?" David tried to find whatever it was, but there was seemingly nothing wrong.

"Here." Eli pointed at an almost invisible patch of very dark grey, almost black, on the black background. "There's a trace of something there."

"Where's Dr. Xavier?" David had no idea why he wanted to see Dr. Xavier so suddenly, but an idea formed in his mind. Dr. Xavier had done a forensics sweep of the morgue, and his evidence might be of use here, whether it was relevant or not.

"He's with Dr. Jensen, reviewing the same photograph. Come on."

They walked down a corridor to Dr. Jensen's radiology room, a radioactive hazard sign plastered over the door. Inside, a larger x-ray was pinned to the wall in front of an x-ray illuminator, with the two doctors discussing over it. David entered and sat down on the chair normally for patients.

"My point is that the very same type of residual energy was found in the morgue," said Dr. Xavier. "It's spectral energy from ghosts."

Dr. Jensen looked unconvinced. "The amount of spectral energy from ghosts is far too low to leave a mark like this. It would have to be caused by a large amount of electricity, which is still a possibility, because we don't know what they did to him."

"What about a ghost-electric pokemon?" David piped up. The professors eyed him and thought it over. They were quiet for a moment. "There's a ghost-electric pokemon, right?"

"Yes," said Dr. Jensen slowly. "But there's only one pokemon of that type. And it's pretty rare."

"Which one? I don't recall." David scratched his head.

"Well," Eli said. "Ever heard of Rotom?"

* * *

><p>"If they have a Rotom, it can't be good," said David, walking into the daycare with Eli. "Given that what I've read about it is true, it's going to be one difficult pokemon to stop."<p>

"Possibly even more so than Ketchum's Pikachu," commented Eli, referring to the adventurer-turned-Elite-Four. "My Houndour has a chance of taking it out, but I doubt we'll be successful."

David rang the bell on the counter. It was getting dark, but the daycare was a twenty-four hour service. A man walked out of the back of the shop. "Hello, I'd like to get my Furret back, please."

"One moment; I'll go and get it for you." He disappeared back into the shop to retrieve Furret;s pokeball. Most students using the service would need to present their ID card to claim their pokemon, but the clerk knew David especially well.

Eli rested his arms on the counter. "Where do you think we should go next?"

"I'm going to ask him if he knows about the Rotom. A pokemon like that is kinda hard to miss. Then we're going to go after the owner."

"What about backup? You're not just going to barge in and stop him, aren't you? I guess you haven't read the news about construction worker in Mauville who was electrocuted to death by a wild Magneton, then." Eli looked pleased with himself.

David tapped his fingers on the countertop. "You just had to remind me of that incident, didn't you? I'm trying to think positive thoughts right now. I can't go to the Professors for help. We don't even know if the corpse is with the Rotom's owner. They're too busy trying not to let the students see it, or let word get out to the police."

"The doctors seem inclined enough to help us," he said. "And I think Dr. Jensen's got a Haunter. Quite useful in surgery, I heard."

"Yeah, but Professor Harper should have told them to stand by for more events. They won't be of help. The most we can do is go there ourselves, but like you said, it's too dangerous."

The clerk came back with a pokeball, which he handed to David. David took the opportunity to question him. "Excuse me, but do you know anything about a Rotom on-campus?"

"Well." The clerk looked deep in thought. "I did see one another day, in fact. I think it was with Javier…"

There it was. Another name he recognised, and also knew that it wasn't possible. Javier was in the custody of the police. But could the Rotom be someone else's, like Galvantula had been? "Do you have any idea why it could be now?"

The clerk shrugged. "I could look the pokemon registry for you, though. But it's going to have to be in an hour. The Wailmers need feeding." He glanced at his watch. "A Rotom shouldn't be that hard to look up. I'll call your usual number, 'kay?"

"Thanks." David bid goodbye, turned and walked out of the daycare centre. li trailed behind, lost in his own thoughts.

He didn't know where to go next. There was still one hour to kill before the clerk called, and there was nothing left to do, except perhaps play with Furret.

The grass rustled. David looked around and saw a tail poking out of it, one which ended in a leaf-like shape. He took out Furret's pokeball, and threw it at the ground. "You see that?" he whispered.

Furret nodded an affirmative, and snuck into the grass. The moment David's pokemon touched the plants the tail quivered, and whatever pokemon owning it took off. "Get after it!" he commanded, and Furret sped through the undergrowth.

He ran after it, keeping an eye out for the tail. It had vanished, but he had followed Furret, relying on its excellent sense of smell to lock onto the mysterious pokemon.

After a while, he burst out of the tall grass, and into a clearing. The pokemon they were chasing was running towards the radio tower, but it was too dark to see in the dimming twilight. He simply ran after furret, who was still hot on its trail.

"Furret, quick attack!" At his order, the sleek pokemon dashed forward at amazing speed, slamming into their target with great force.

The lights in the radio tower opened, and a spotlight was activated, creating a circle of light around Furret and the pokemon revealed to be Dedenne.

_Ah, crap_, thought David, realising whose pokemon it was. "Sorry!" he shouted. The door of the radio tower opened, and a figure stood in the doorway. David thought he heard some swearing, and then Dedenne ran inside, the door slamming shut right afterwards.

David banged on the locked door. "Hey Open up! I just want to apologise!"

"Go away!" came a familiar voice from inside. David sighed and turned around. He was about to walk back, but two red eyes stared him from the edge of the tall grass.

"Who's there?" David called. The eyes blinked, and sunk into the tall grass. He crept towards it slowly, wary that the thing inside the grass might be dangerous.

A long appendage shot out, and smashed into his chest.

He fell backwards onto the grass, just in time to see another punch take out Furret, sending it flying across the field.

A sudden jolt of lightning leapt at their attacker, licking at the shape in the shadows. The light was enough to illuminate the Breloom, slashing wildly at the Dedenne that was darting around it.

David picked Furret up, and ran for the radio station. There was another boy there, but it wasn't as if David didn't know that.

"Get in!"

David dove into the now-open doorway, using his shoulder to shield his pokemon from the impact against the floor. The Dedenne leapt in over his head, and the boy David recognised as Jared Pulavski pushed the door closed.

He glared at David. "Now you're just gonna get me into trouble!"

David let go of Furret, who scrambled to the closest window. "That wasn't my fault."

"What, being chased by a homicidal Breloom? How the heck did you piss a Breloom off?"

_Thud_.

David slowly turned to look at the door to the radio station. The metal it was composed of was bent inwards, towards them. In the shape of a Breloom claw.

Jared swore loudly and opened a cabinet, searching inside. His Dedenne charged up an attack, standing by the door and ready to pounce if necessary.

Jared pulled out a shiny black metal pistol from the cabinet, checking the magazine and cocking the hammer. David's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

"My father was a Federation officer in Unova. He willed it to me." Jared's hands were shaking, his gun aimed straight at the door. "You better get into cover, man. This is going to be loud."

David nodded, and put himself behind a couch. Furret ran up onto his shoulder, anticipating the door to burst open any moment and the hostile pokemon to come storming in punches flying.

The door swung open.

David had to practically tackle Jared to the ground, and wrench the gun away from his hands. Jared threw a punch at him, knocking David into a wall. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"Err, guys?" said Ellen, a puzzled look plastered across her face. She quickly saw the gun, and frowned. "Who's breaking the law here?"

Realising his mistake, Jared smiled at David, and picked himself up. "Technically, I'm not breaking any laws. I've got a lisence."

Ellen didn't look convinced. "Only military and ex-military have ex-licences, Jared. I'm not stupid." She had a smug smile on her face.

"Hey," David said from the floor. "What are you doing here? Did you see a Breloom?"

Ellen raised her eyebrows. "I didn't see a single soul outside, pokemon or human." She was about to say something else when a Breloom claw shot from outside and knocked her into a wall, unconscious.

Another punch threw David into Jared, who had grabbed his gun, and was aiming towards the Breloom. Something fell from a shelf, and landed on David's head. The last thing David saw before unconsciousness was Jared pulling the trigger.

* * *

><p>Bright light pierced his eyelids. David moved a hand up to shield them, and sat up slowly. His head swam, and there was a sick feeling in his stomach. Mentally, he ran a check on himself for any injuries, and upon finding none serious, he got up and took out his phone. David dialed 4227, the official East Hoenn University Hospital number, and called for an ambulance.<p>

His vision cleared. He could see the rest of the room now - Jared was gone, a shelf was smashed, and what he presumed to be the thing that knocked him unconscious was lying shattered on the floor where his head had been.

Ellen was still out cold, bleeding from a cut in her forehead.

He rushed to her side, and checked the point of injury. No; it was only a graze. He turned his attention to the still-open door. The night air was crisp and cool as it blew inside the building. A trail of blood that originated from somewhere inside the building led outside, but the darkness veiled the ground.

David stumbled out, still holding his head. Something nudged his leg. Furret. It looked no worse for wear than him, but a small bruise on the side of its body told him they had suffered similar fates.

"You okay?" he asked Furret. The pokemon nodded in response, and pointed to the blood.

"Yeah, that's human os it's probably Jared. Can you track it?"

Furret took a sniff and nodded again, slinking into an area of tall grass. David ran to keep up, even though his head was pounding like crazy. _The doctors better stock some Immapersimmin_, he thought, silently cursing the Starfish Team for not doing so.

A while later, Furret stopped at the edge of the lake. Blood went around the side, but it was clear enough to David what was happening.

At the centre of the lake, at the very middle of the bridge that spanned across it, was a large wooden cross-wheel - the symbol of Arceus - that stood upright. Tied to the cross-wheel was Jared.

There was a second figure on the platform in front of Jared. The silhouette was pacing in front of the wheel-crucifix, apparently saying something to Jared, but David was too far hear.

Silently, he tip-toed to the bridge entry point. The moon hung high in the sky, and illuminated the stone pathway in front of him. Jared and the figure was a mere twenty metres away. David raised his foot and put it down on the hard stone...and was instantly knocked to the ground from behind.

He spun over, attempting to kick the Breloom that had snuck up on him, but another punch forced him to dodge by rolling.

Furret was hit by an attack, and was sent flying into the water. David got up and sprinted onto the bridge, towards the two in the middle of the bridge.

The mysterious person turned, and stared at David through the eyeholes in his mask. David could see it was the physique of a man, probably a student. The eyes were cold, and full of menace.

That made David stop long enough for Breloom to tackle him to the ground.

The man bent down, and removed David's cellphone from his pocket. He turned it on and examined the screen. "Who's she?" the masked student asked in a gravelly voice. He turned the phone towards David, showing him the picture of Ellen that he used as his lockscreen.

David gasped and struggled, trying to pry Breloom off himself, but to no avail. The pokemon pinned him down hard. "What do you want?"

"I want to get rid of competition. Tell me the names of people working in Starfish, and I won't hurt her."

"You're going to anyway," sneered David, gritting his teeth. "I know people like you, you damn psychopath!"

There was a flash of curiosity in the masked student's eyes. "Ooh, fierce, aren't you? Breloom, apply some pressure, please."

There was a soft red light from behind him. A claw gripped his shoulder, and squeezed hard.

David gave out a cry, stifled by the force of the pokemon on top of him. "No, never!"

The claw pierced his shoulder. David felt his own warm blood drip from his shoulder to the bridge. He swore, but didn't say a word.

"Come on. Spit it out." The student appeared to slap himself, or his mask, at least. "Oh, yes! There's our good friend Jared here." He produced a long, thin knife and approached the blindfolded boy on the cross-wheel. "Pulavski, which part of your body is the most sensitive?"

A glob of spit landed on the masked student. He shook his head and slid the knife lightly onto the skin of Jared's neck, just over his carotid artery. "Say, David, who else works in Starfish?"

David closed his eyes and thought of them. Kylie. Liala. Harley. No, he wouldn't betray them. "Go piss yourself."

"Breloom," he called in a sing-song voice. A second claw gripped his other shoulder. Again, there was a soft red light. The masked student moved the knife closer to Jared's neck. "Is he _that_ worthless to you?" He pulled the knife away, ready to strike.

A blast of electricity shot from somewhere outside David's peripheral vision. The Breloom cried in pain, and the there was the heavy _clank_ of something against the stone bridge.

Pressure was immediately removed from David's back. His vision blurred a little as he stood up, and when they cleared, he saw the masked student holding his knife out at him. Breloom pushed David aside, and faced the masked boy.

David cast a glance at the ground, where a thick metal collar was lying, smoking. Beside it was Furret, whose fur was still crackling with electricity.

"Stay away from me!" shouted the boy at the pokemon, which made no hint to move away. Instead, it threw a high-speed punch st the student's face, knocking the mask clean off.

Fearing for his true identity, he put a hand over his face, and ran for the other side of the bridge, Breloom in hot pursuit.

Furret rubbed David's leg, and pointed at the knife the mysterious boy had dropped. David picked it up, and cut the bonds holding Jared against the cross-wheel. The blindfold slipped off easily. The radio host looked relieved, albeit a bit pale. "Thanks, man. I owe you one. I thought he was really going to kill me."

"He was," David said, looking in the direction the Breloom had gone in. "You gotta thank Furret here, not me."

Jared gave the pokemon a smile, and examined the cross he had been bound to. "Who was it?"

"I've no idea. He was wearing a mask."

"Ah, shit," Jared said. "I've seen this before."

David blinked. "What the cross? Symbol of Arceus?"

"This is what the Church of Arceus uses in their chapels. How did anyone get it here…?" He ran a hand over the wood. "It's authentic wood, too. Whoever got this has to be a church member."

"An Arceus worshipper who kills?

"It may be his sick way of worship. There are people who kill in the name of God."

"Well, whatever; I'm so done for today. You need help getting back?"

Jared shook his head. "No thank you. I know this campus like the back of my own hand." He inhaled the night air. "Oh, and, sorry for being so abrasive at the tower. I've been tracking the damned pokemon for a week now, and didn't want you messing the research up." He scratched his head. "Guess I'll have to find it again, then."

David nodded. "Happy hunting," he said as Jared walked away. He bent down and picked up the collar-like control device the masked student had been using. Hart and Coolidge - when the latter was found, anyway - had to see this.

He picked up his phone, turned it on and sighed. The screen was cracked, like a Spinarak's web, but he wasn't too worried. That picture of Ellen smiling was enough to melt his heart. He inhaled, exhaled, and put the phone away.

Damn, he needed sleep.


	4. Episode 4: The Storm

**Episode 4: The Storm**

"Spectrometer readings say the casing is reinforced aluminium, but the little antenna on the back is chrome-plated iron," said Harley Cord, holding up the screen for David. "There is also some gold on the inside, probably used to deliver an electric current."

"It was used to control a wild Breloom," explained David. "Take a look at the inner workings, will you?"

Harley set the collar down on the tabletop. "What's this all about? Last night?"

"I don't understand the situation very well either. Have you seen Professor Coolidge?"

The boy from Chemistry shook his head. "Not a trace. How's Professor Hart?"

"He's holding up fine. I'm going to see him in a minute."

"Well, give him my regards. Kylie, too." Harley picked up a screwdriver and sat down, ready to disassemble the control collar.

David was about to open the door and leave, but something tugged at the back of his mind. "Harley, where do you think the signal controlling the Breloom was coming from?"

The boy looked up. "Well, they wouldn't put the transmitter close to you, so it's probably far away, or at the centre of campus to cover as much area as possible."

"That would use a lot of energy. As far as I know, the electricity bills aren't going up, so…"

"They're using a pokemon to power the transmitter. Probably an Electivire, or-"

"-a Rotom?" finished David. His head was flooded with new ideas. "Get that thing analysed, Harley. I'll be back in a few hours!"

* * *

><p>Outside, the sky was dark and brooding. Miserable, grey clouds floated by, grimacing at David as he quickly made his way across the lawn of the dormitories, and into the hospital. Just as he entered the lobby, the first drops of rain hit the grass behind him.<p>

Dr. Xavier was waiting for him next to the vending machine. "These things are stupid traps," he said, pounding lightly on the glass front of the machine. "I've been trying to get that chocolate bar for ten minutes now."

David chuckled. "Is Professor Hart awake?"

"He's up and ready for you." Dr. Xavier motioned to the elevator door. They got inside, and David jabbed the sixth floor button.

Minutes later, the doors swept open again, into a clean corridor with flowered wallpaper. The doctor swung a door labeled 605 open, and led David to the bed which Professor Hart was lying on. The professor was hooked up to some monitors which displayed his condition.

Professor Hart was half sat-up and half lying down, but his eyes were open. His eyes seemed brighter when he caught sight of David. He coughed a little. "David...what happened after I went into surgery?"

David swallowed. He looked at Dr. Xavier, who reluctantly left the room. "They have a Rotom."

"That can't be good," Hart said in a hoarse voice. "But is Project Starfish okay?"

"We've made a bit of progress. Kylie got a little bit closer to the actual formula, but it broke down a bit too fast."

"Shame." Hart coughed again, violently. David went to the counter and got him a glass of water. The professor gulped it down, and set the glass onto his bedside table. "My lungs got infected. Good thing we taught Dr. Newman well."

David smiled. "What happened to you, Professor?"

"I was punched in the ribs by a Breloom, apparently. Did you ever find it?"

"I did, and I took care of it. Where's Professor Coolidge?"

"Sebastian...I haven't heard from him either. Was going to ask you the same thing. David, I need to tell you what happened that night. Lean in closer."

Confused, David bent down closer to Hart. "I think the room is bugged, David," said the professor. "Someone stole George Blunchuss' corpse. You have to find it."

Then, Hart laid back on his pillow, and closed his eyes. In moments, he was snoring softly.

It took David ten minutes to get to the morgue, running his hands over the rows of name tags of the corpses stored there. The bag that contained Blunchuss' corpse earlier was the last bag.

Slowly, David pulled the zipper down. He was instantly met with the smell of preservative chemicals. He staggered back, the charred, blown-open mass of flesh that was Blunchuss' head staring straight at him. That wasn't possible - the body had been stolen, last he checked. As the zip went down the rest of the way, David got his first, clear look at the body.

George Blunchuss was missing an arm, and half his left leg, as well as a large chunk of his torso. The Voltorb's explosion had done massive damage, burning the body beyond recognition. Not that they needed to test it. With David and Professor Coolidge as witnesses, there was no doubt it was Blunchuss.

However, something was off. David leaned in closer, and pressed his gloved hands to the chest of the corpse. He pulled the torn flesh apart, and saw a small, circular opening in the heart.

A cold pair of hands grabbed david from behind and spun him around. He gave a cry, only to see Ellen, a small bandage on her forehead where she had hit her head last night at the radio station.

"What are you doing here? Professor Harper will murder you if he sees this."

"Well, Professor Hart told me to check the body, so here I am?"

Ellen frowned. "What's your secret?"

David staggered back a little. "I've nothing to hide."

"Your reaction just told me otherwise. Now, what's going on between you, Hart and Coolidge? Some kind of secret project?"

"If it was a secret project…" David was treading carefully. He had been threatened with hurting Ellen on more than one occasion, and he wasn't about to let that happen. "...I wouldn't be allowed to tell you, correct?"

"Not even if I ask nicely?"

"God, you're stubborn. I'll tell you when the professors allow it. For now, I'm not allowed to or I'll be kicked out, and I'll never get a job."

Ellen smiled a devilish smile. David could tell his heart now had a hole in it, not unlike the one Blunchuss had. "Fine," she said, finally relenting. "But it better be soon!" She walked out of the morgue.

David let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and looked back at Blunchuss' corpse. It was as ugly as ever, with all its burnt parts and torn-open organs, but something…

It hit him.

David picked up a pair of tweezers and a small penlight from inside his coat, and went to examine the hole in Blunchuss' heart. He put the tweezers in and widened the hole, shining the light inside it.

Embedded in the wall of the heart was a tiny shard of rock.

* * *

><p>Professor Hart was still asleep, so David had to wait outside. As each minute passed, the chair he was sitting on grew more and more uncomfortable. <em>Or maybe<em>, thought David, _I need to see a psychologist_. He laughed the idea off. No, it wasn't that bad, wasn't it? He didn't need to see Professor Frobisher.

"Talking to oneself is a sign of insanity, you know?" asked someone David couldn't see. He turned around, and nearly jumped out of his seat. A boy with dark brown hair was sitting next to him, wearing a lab coat. "You should go and get yourself checked."

"I know that," he replied, "I'm a medical student, too. Why have I never seen you around? Who are you?"

"No, the question is, who are _you_, waiting outside this room? You've been sitting here for almost an hour."

He held out a hand. "I'm David Estok, second year. Professor Hart of Archeology's been injured. I'm waiting for him to wake up. You?"

The boy looked strangely at the hand, and brought his own up - covered in a surgical glove - and shook it slowly. "I'm Tommy. Tommy Winslow. I study neuroscience under Dr. Faraday."

David nodded, impressed. Dr. Faraday's group had never been an easy one to get into, let alone stay in for a year. He had heard rumors that there were extremely brutal exams, and for a good reason: a misdiagnosis had a sky-high chance of resulting in the patient's death, and Dr. Faraday was a very serious man.

"So what's wrong with Professor Hart? The nurses won't tell me who was in there, and neither will Professor Harper."

"We was attacked by a wild pokemon," David half-lied. "It cracked some of his ribs, and punctured his lung. I heard there was some infection, but he's okay now."

"Glad to hear that-" There was a sharp ringing sound, and Tommy pulled his phone out. "Ah, crap, I got a lecture in five. See you around."

David got up too, but to use the bathroom. He navigated down the corridor and took a right at the end, and was about to push the men's room door open when it was pulled away from him. He stumbled straight into Adam, who was grinning. "Hello, boss."

"Adam," drawled David, a bead of sweat trickling down from his forehead. "How are your studies?"

"Medicine is hard," he admitted, casting a look towards the floor. "But I don't think I'm going to die. I've got a lecture on causes of injuries with Professor Eldridge in half an hour, so if you don't mind…"

"Of course." David stepped aside and allowed him to go his way. "Hey, by the way, I've got someone who wants to meet you. You got a lecture this afternoon?"

"Nah, I'm free from noon till three. Who's it?"

"That's part of the surprise."

Adam shrugged. "Just don't keep me waiting, boss. I've got places to go to, things to do, people to hit on."

David laughed. "I see. Two thirty, we meet in the lobby."

* * *

><p>"Make it quick, Harley."<p>

The Starfish member opened a plastic bag full of metal pieces and poured them onto the tabletop. "I've figured out how it works, but I'm sure you don't want to know that. Something else I found, however, was this." He reached over and picked up a little circuit board with a small dial on it. "It's been tuned to a certain frequency."

"Did you find the origin?" David picked up a cube-like piece. "I'm itching to know who's behind all this."

"Actually," Harley said, smiling. "We did go onto the roof with the triangulator. Or roofs, should I say. Had Kylie on the Archeology building and Ernie climbing Jared's radio tower. Guess what we found?"

"Well, you tell me."

The boy's eyes lit up, and he pointed to a campus map on the wall. Three sensors pointed in three different directions, and they cross _here_." With the last word, Harley jabbed a map pin into a spot on the south side of the campus, near the entrance. "I was right; it's nowhere near you or the Breloom last night."

David looked at the legend of the map. "Management and Administration faculty. Intresting. What time is it?"

"10.02."

"Thank you, Harley." David walked across the hub, past a few other students who were experimenting with the Regenerator drug. He stopped at a lab table where large pieces of wood lay scattered on the surface. Liala Ritt stood beside the pieces, holding one under a spectrometer. "Hi."

David skimmed his fingers over the pieces of the wheel-cross Jared had been tied to the night before. "Found anything interesting?"

"It's pine," reported Liala, picking up the shard she was examining. "The same kind of wood used to make Christian crosses and Arceus wheel-crosses. My father was a devout Arceus worshipper," she added.

"So it's an authentic wheel-cross?"

"I wouldn't say that." Liala picked up another, much smaller piece that had previously been stuck to the side of the wheel-cross, creating spikes. "This piece, and the other five like it, are made from balsa wood. Arceus wheel-crosses are made from only one type of wood."

David took the piece from her and examined the lightweight piece of timber. "Are you suggesting that someone is trying to frame the Church of Arceus?"

"Likely. Hey, on a different note, Professor Coolidge being gone is...um...demoralising the team." She leaned in to whisper. "I don't think they like taking orders from a second-year student."

"In my defense, nobody took control, so I decided to. What about you? Do you like taking orders from me?"

Liala put her hands on her hips. "Professor Coolidge trusted you enough to bring you in, so why not? And I don't see any problem with listening to someone who knows what he's doing." She gave him a warm smile. "Besides, you're doing a great job right now. We're very close to getting the actual drug. It might take a few more months, but who can say? It's a very complex thing we're doing."

"Any way I can try to earn the respect of the good people?" He already had ideas, but he didn't know everyone as well as Harley, Kylie or Liala. "That does not involve throwing a frat party for the members of Project Starfish?"

"You have to show them that you're in control," said Liala. She grabbed his hand.

David drew it back on impulse. What was that? Was Liala trying to...no, she was just trying to give him support. _She's_ just a friend, David told himself. "I'm sorry, but I think I have a lunch appointment." He turned to leave.

"With Ellen?" she called after him.

David just smiled and opened the hub door.

* * *

><p>"You gonna order?" asked Ellen, glaring at David across the table.<p>

"I can't decide," he protested, hiding his face behind the menu. "Don't know if I should go for throat or heart sweetbread."

"Ew, you like sweetbreads?"

"They taste good!" He put his finger on one item. "I'll have roasted heart sweetbread with risotto," he told the waiter, and handed the menu back.

Ellen crossed her arms and pouted. "Why would you hide anything from me? I've known you longest of all your friends. That is, if you have any."

"I count Eli, Adam, Craig, Harley, Liala and Kylie as my friends."

"Notice how half the boys are gay?" she teased.

David shook his head. "What are you even trying to suggest? That I'm gay? If I were, would I be here?"

"I wouldn't mind it if you were bisexual." Ellen spotted something behind David. "And that guy is definitely not gay."

David raised a questioning eyebrow, and turned around. Sitting a few tables from them was someone he could only describe as "jock". The guy must have been some kind of bodybuilder, because the chair looked tiny compared to him. "Don't jump to conclusions yet."

"What's your secret?"

"I can't tell you, or it won't be a secret, wouldn't it?"

Ellen stood up, and took large steps towards the jock's table. He set herself down opposite him. For the first time, David realised with dread, he saw that the jock was wearing an East Hoenn University blazer.

Adjusting his chair, he could just hear their conversation.

"Hey there," said Ellen.

"The seat's taken," he replied.

"How long have you been waiting here? From the looks of it, she's probably never going to arrive. I'm Ellen." David observed as her hands moved to cover his. _Ah, damn, that's a smooth move_.

"Yeah, I've been waiting an hour now…"

"I can buy you lunch if you want." At that, David scrunched up the napkin in front of him, his nails digging into the material.

"Nah, I've got my own money. There's-"

A tall girl was standing behind Ellen, a gruesome frown on her face. David turned away quickly, sighing.

The tall girl must have screamed, because a bunch of waiters ran past David, and then the ringing in his ears stopped. He looked back at Ellen, who was smiling sheepishly at him. He stood up, and walked over to the jock's table. "Let's go."

The guy looked at him, confused. Ellen tapped his arm. "That's David. He's my...boyfriend."

David smiled. "Nice to meet you...erm…"

"Marcus. I'm doing Sports Science at the university. You?"

"Medicine."

Marcus cast a wary glance at Ellen. "This is awkward," he said meekly.

She got up, and slowly pushed the chair back in place. "I'm-I'm sorry about your date, Marcus.

"She's a bitch anyway." Marcus kicked up his feet onto the table, attracting the looks of the other customers. "David, got someone else I can hook up with?"

He grabbed Ellen and pulled her back to my table. "What the heck were you thinking? Trying to make me jealous?"

"That worked." Ellen reached into her purse and rummaged around. "So what you gonna do about it?"

"I-" David stopped to think of what he could say. "I'm trying to solve Professor Hart's attack." He swallowed, having nearly said _murder_. Professor Hart wasn't dead yet, goddamnit.

"Alone? Why not have me help?"

"Because I think whoever tried to get him out of the picture would target you!" He brought his hands up and grabbed Ellen by the shoulders. "Look, the things I've found so far strongly suggest that these people will use violence to get what they want. I don't need you to to get hurt."

"Professor Hart isn't even your teacher, David. Why are you so interested?"

_Shit_. He needed to think of something quickly. Anything that would clear his name…"Because he knows where Professor Coolidge is. I haven't seen him around in days. Plus, Professor Hart broke me out of jail once."

Ellen put up her hands. "Look, I don't believe all of that, but one day - which could be as soon as tomorrow - I'm going to beat the truth out of you. Get it?"

David nodded, exhaling loudly. "Should we finish lunch?"

She narrowed her eyes and pinched his cheek playfully. "Let me try sweetbreads. I've never actually had it."

* * *

><p>David dropped two large, brown paper bags on the table in the hub. "I brought onion rings and fries!" She opened them, allowing the fresh smell of the deep-fried foods to waft out into the lab. A few of the students looked up, and smiled at the sight of the bags.<p>

The first to come running was Harley. "You checked out the transmitter?"

"No, I've had a lecture and two appointments. I'll do it this afternoon, after I'm free."

Harley removed a large onion ring from inside one of the bags and bit into it. "I tourt you were more eager than dish," he said, mouthful of onion and flour.

"I felt that I was...going too fast. Things were becoming rushed, so I slowed them down. I've also got something else for you." David removed from inside his pocket a small test tube containing a small piece of rock. "I got this from George's corpse in the morgue. I want to know where it's from, and why it was there."

Harley nodded, clearly not fond of taking orders, but determined to help Coolidge's project bin any way possible. "I'll be here chill sish dish evening."

David snickered. "Maybe you should talk after you swallow."

"Arl keep that in mind, bosh."

* * *

><p>"Don't cheat, Adam," said David, as he led his fellow medical student through the corridors of the hospital, and into the students' self-proclaimed break room. He hand a hand over Adam's eyes, and with his other hand led him around the coffee table, and into an armchair. He took the hand away, and Adam raised his eyebrow in question.<p>

"Hello, Adam," said Craig, sitting opposite him. "David thought I should meet you. Pretty sure he said the same thing about me."

Adam gave David a searing look. "So you kidnapped two people and put them in the same room to talk to each other and possibly conspire against you?"

"Actually," he said, "I haven't thought of that last part, but the first part is untrue. I'm doing this so you stop hitting on me."

"Hitting on-" Craig paused in mid sentence, a smile forming in the corner of his mouth. He stuck a hand out at Adam. "Nice to meet you, Adam."

"Get to know each other," said David, shutting the break room door behind him and taking out his phone. A text message came up.

_Got a lead. Call me quick_, it read. The message was from Harley, approximately ten minutes ago. Why hadn't he felt the phone vibrate? Oh, yes, Adam's hardcore metal album blaring at full volume.

He tapped Harley's number and waited. The other student picked up after three rings. "Does 'quick' mean twelve minutes to you?"

"What's up? What have you got?"

"The rock," said Harley, "is partly organic. So I ran a DNA test."

"A pokemon DNA te-"

"I know you're going to say it's pretty inaccurate, but I can confirm that this rock came from a member of the Geodude family. More specifically, a Graveler. And you know who has a Graveler?"

"Just tell me."

"Anna Ritt."

He paused for a second. "Get Liala on the phone."

There was a short pause. "Hello?" sung the voice of Liala Ritt. "...is this about Anna?"

"Liala, when the police gave you Anna's stuff, did you find anything that might tell you what she was planning?"

"David, all I got from the police were her notes on philosophy and last year's alumni book."

He rubbed his forehead. "Look in the book, see if there's anything."

"I have, David. There's nothing! Calm yourself down. All she did was cross out all the students she was glad to see leave last year."

David's grip on the mobile loosened, and the phone fell to the floor, its cracked screen facing up. Liala said something, but it was too far away to hear. David let himself sink down until he was sitting against the wall, then picked it up. "I'm sorry - you-you're right, I need to calm down. What about her notes? Anything interesting?"

"There were a lot of notes on Darkrai and how it's related to the full moon or something, but that's all there is. I'm sorry, but if you think my step-sister is planning anything, it's not anytime soon."

David blew out his cheeks and pocketed the phone. Liala was right - all the work was making him paranoid. He stood up and brushed himself off, and re-entered the break room.

Adam was laughing his head off at a joke Craig told. He moment he saw David, he choked on his own saliva and went down coughing.

Craig seemed unconcerned about his newfound friend, instead furrowing his brow. "You okay, David? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's just, the work's getting to me. I may have been reading Gary Oak's papers a little too hard. Man, I need a break."

Adam pulled himself up, and wiped the trail of saliva on his chin off with a tissue. "Maybe you should get something from the vending machine."

David allowed himself to fall into an armchair. "I'm out of change. Plus, I don't think a drink will do me any good. I'm diabetic, remember?"

"We didn't say which vending machine," said Craig, smiling sinisterly. His hand moved under the coffee table, and something clicked. The whole west wall of the room swung one-hundred-eighty degrees, and on the other side was a typical vending machine. Except this vending machine didn't sell any drinks other than a brown liquid in an unmarked plastic bottle.

"How come no-one ever told me about this?"

"Nobody trusts you, man. We're only doing this because, well, you helped us a little. What you see here is 90% pure Leafeon tea."

David's eyes widened. "That's...unregulated." 70% was barely legal.

"We do what we must," said Adam.

Craig threw a bottle at David. "It will wake you up more than anything else you have ever had."

David twisted the cap open, and took a big sip.

The world grew brighter, and then faded. Adam and Craig disappeared from his peripheral vision, and he felt his eyes closing. The smell of wet grass after a rainstorm filled his nostrils, reminding him of...George Blunchuss?

Images flashed through his mind of running across the park in the fog after the storm, following the student criminal's trail, to stop him from leaving the university campus. The images went on and on, until he came to Blunchuss blowing himself up.

David opened his eyes to see the two students grinning over him. "How was that? Serene, wasn't it?"

"Serene?" the words felt alien to him, and his throat was drier than usual. "All I had was clearer thoughts…"

"That only happens to people who think too much."

Like a reset of a generator after a blackout, an idea flooded his mind.

"Shit!" He ran out of the room.

"You think too much!" Craig called after him.

* * *

><p>David slipped his way through the still-opening door to the hub, and grabbed Liala. "Let me see the alumni book!"<p>

She awkwardly reached to the table and grabbed it, handing it to him. She looked at him as if he were crazy. "There's nothing in there."

"Nobody keeps a yearbook around over the holidays!" he exclaimed, quickly flicking through the pages. "I think this was where she made her plans. I need a black light!"

Harley tossed one at him.

He went through the pages again, but this time he swept the penlight over every centimetre. "Ha!" David jabbed a finger on a small photograph.

It was a blonde girl in her twenties, her face crossed out with red marker. "I don't see anything..." began Liala.

"Look closer!"

Liala squinted, and a look of surprise formed on her face. "Oh my god."

"What is it?" Harley interjected, leaning over them and eyeing the photo.

Right above David's finger was, in the background behind the girl, George Blunchuss. He had his face turned sideways, but it was recognisable enough. Finally, right under the black light, on Blunchuss' face, was a cross made in invisible ink.

"Holy mother of-"

"No time for that. George was meant to die from the start. He wasn't even a big part of the plan. So question is, who is?"

Liala flicked a few more pages, running the blacklight over the pages until-

"We're in trouble."

David glanced at the group photo, where Liala had the light over. One face was crossed out, at the edge of the photo.

It was Professor Hart. "Trouble indeed."

"Just tell me what you're planning," Ernie cut in, wielding his database tablet. "I can get you resources." He paused at an odd look from David. "What? The fries were nice."

David laughed. "I'm going to need someone with a fighting or steel type Pokemon. Anna's got a Graveler and a Galvantula."

Ernie tapped something into his tablet, and showed David a screen full of faces of students. "Take your pick."

He scrolled down the list, until... "Him! I've met him before. What's his Pokemon?"

Ernie tapped on the face to expand the student's datasheet and David whistled. "That is awfully convenient," he said.

* * *

><p>The Admistration building - run by the wealthy, aristocratic Professor Ravensdale - stood tall against the dark sky, the grey concrete almost blending in with the gathering storm clouds.<p>

The Sports Science student, Marcus, ducked behind a tree, followed closely by David. "What's the plan?"

"There's a fire escape on the east side. They'll have it covered, but with your Riolu, we probably get through."

"You still haven't told me who we're up against."

"That's classified, Marc." The athlete shook his head, and got out of cover, keeping low while advancing for the left side of the building.

"I'm hoping the Graveler is guarding the stairs or we're screwed."

David nodded. The Galvantula would probably electrocute them from the top.

Marcus pulled down the ladder slowly, as to not make any noise, and began the ascend.

David grabbed the fifth or so rung, feeling the cold metal in his hands, and hoisted himself up.

The athlete was already climbing towards the third flight of stairs as David himself got off the ladder. "You're fast."

"What did you expect? I play football." As if to prove his point, Marcus ran up a few more flights with impressive speed.

"You can show off after we get rid of the enemy." He caught up to the athlete.

"Do we have to play the name game? Who's up there, and why can't you tell me anything?"

A rattling of metal spared David from providing the answer to that question. Instead, it brought a new threat. The pair pressed themselves against the brick wall, barely managing to hide themselves from the Graveler that was looking down.

After a while, it was gone, and David released his held breath. He put a hand on the railing, looking up. "That was way too close."

Marcus snickered and muttered something, but David didn't care. He continued up the stairs until he was on the level below the Graveler's, and gave Marcus a hand signal.

The Riolu was released silently, and crept up to stand beside David. Marcus trailed behind, and then pointed at the Graveler, whispering words incomprehensible to David.

Before he knew it, Riolu had kicked Anna's Pokemon off the roof of the building; there was a distant _thud _as it hit the ground.

"Bravo!" exclaimed a voice from the rooftop. David and Marcus approached slowly and saw a strange sight.

A large claw-like machine laid on the rooftop, facing upwards, and connected to the lightning rod behind it. In between the claws was a Rotom, flapping it's ghostly wings and occasionally discharging a burst of static into the device.

Beside the machine stood the masked student, and Anna Ritt, who looked crestfallen. David spotted a metal bracelet on her left arm.

"You took out the Graveler really well, eh?"

David released Furret, who growled at the masked student.

"Electroweb," said the masked boy, and Anna's Galvantula clambered onto the roof from its hiding place on the side. It reared up and a glowing mass of electricity came at them.

Riolu rolled aside just as the crackling web knocked Furret, David and Marcus down on the rooftop. The web hardened and turned white.

"You using other people's pokemon now, huh?" David called, hoping to distract him from Riolu.

"They know what I'll do if they don't let me." The masked boy said, turning to a console on the device.

Anna Ritt bit her bottom lip and looked at them with tears in her eyes.

David mouthed, _help me_.

Her hand went straight for the metal bracelet, and she shyly shook her head.

Marcus was crouched over, giving hand gestures to his Riolu, who with every step, got closer to the device from behind an air-conditioning unit.

The Galvantula patrolled around them, stopping only to fiddle its mandibles, the equivalent of smelling on mammalian pokemon.

"Now!" shouted Marcus, and Riolu shot out from behind cover in a flying kick.

A perfectly aimed thread of electrified web knocked Riolu off the building.

"No!" Marcus grabbed the webbing over him and David and tried to pull it apart, to no avail. The Galvantula moved closer, chittering as it checked the material for damage.

That was when David made his move. He stroked Furret down the back once, and his Pokemon became wreathed in flames. Furret burned through the organic net quickly, and charged the large spider.

Galvantula was thrown against another air-con unit, and it laid unmoving.

Electricity forced both Furret and David back to the ground. "Good one, David. I didn't think you'd do that. But then again, who ever thinks of everything?" He turned back, and Rotom continued electrocuting them.

In the midst of his flashing vision, David got a glimpse of the little LCD display. The hospital was displayed from a camera attached to the side of the device. If he was right, and he most likely was, that the claw machine was a large transformer, a discharge by Rotom would induce a magnetic field in every piece of metal in the place, which in turn would overload both the main and auxiliary generators.

How many would die? Professor Hart was not the only patient dependant on life support.

An idea flickered through his mind when it wasn't screaming in pain at the arbitrary blasts from Rotom. There was no medium for the electricity to get from here to the hospital. The air wasn't ionised enough...at least not yet. The masked student was waiting for a storm. Everything would merely look like one fatal lightning strike if he succeeded.

The smell of burning stopped, and David wiped tears of pain from his eyes, to see the masked boy lying on the ground and clutching his head. Anna Ritt held a small metal rod in her hand, about to strike for a second time.

Rotom blasted her backwards to the edge of the building with a ball of dark substance.

The masked boy got up, walked over to her and put a foot on her. "You shouldn't have done that." Calmly, he pushed her off the edge. "You're in luck, David, you know that? I'm not going to kill you anymore. But you're going to kill the good Professor for me-"

Metal shrieked. One of the claws on the device bent at an awkward angle, and lightning bolts from the Rotom flew everywhere.

One struck the masked student, knocking him out. Another hit the Galvantula, which hadn't stirred.

It was after the first piece of the machine severed the webbing between David and Marcus did he come to his senses.

Riolu - who had damaged the machine - ran after them, half-carried by Furret.

Marcus, with all his strength, grabbed David and the pokemon, and leapt down the fire escape.

Even more screeching ensued as the contraption tore itself apart, a few shards raining onto them.

When the sounds stopped, David took a peek at the scene.

Other than the grotesquely mangled device, there was not a single soul on the roof.

* * *

><p>Following a lengthy interrogation by Officer Hendricks, David was allowed to return to his dorm room.<p>

As he opened the door he was overcome by the smell of dirt and rain. Had he left the window open? He couldn't recall.

A thought hit him: someone had been in his room.

Slowly, David inched the door open, threatening to release Furret at whoever was waiting inside.

He was met with a gruesome sight. The couch was torn open, the window smashed; but the cause of the smell came from the floor.

The Breloom corpse on the floor.

Movement made David's arm jerk back, ready to throw the pokeball.

A man was sat up on David's bed, bound to it by heavy ropes. He was bleeding from a gash in his forehead.

"Finally! I was wondering when you'd come back!" Professor Coolidge laughed.


	5. Episode 5: Reckoning, Part 1

**Episode 5: Reckoning, Part One**

Eli Thomas paused when he saw the stranger. The treat fell from his hands, and his Houndour instantly leapt on it, tearing ferociously. He patted his pokemon on the head, and pulled himself up. At his full height, Eli towered over most of his fellow medical students, with a few exceptions.

The stranger made Eli look like a dwarf. He loomed over Eli, casting a long, dark shadow. Under the black hood, he could see a pair of bright blue eyes that flashed as the man spoke. "Are you Eli Thomas?"

Eli nodded, leaning against the grey concrete wall that was part of his brother's apartment building. "Why do you want to know?" He glanced over the empty car park, seeing no-one.

The stranger's cloak rustled a little, something Eli took as a sign of a pokemon. "Could you confirm that suspicious events have been happening at the University of East Hoenn?"

"Look," he said, putting his hands up. "I don't know a thing about what actually goes on. If you want information, contact a professor or something, okay?"

A stiff breeze pushed against Eli's face, a leaf blowing into his eyes. He brushed it off, and then suddenly saw a small, brown, furry pokemon perched on the hooded man's shoulder. "Raticate isn't too happy about your decision."

Eli scoffed. "Why are you wasting your time here? I'm a first-yearer. I'm sure someone like Professor Ravensdale would be able to answer your questions better, whatever they are."

The hooded man said nothing.

"Well? Can I leave now?"

"Have you heard about anything to do with the Church of Arceus recently?"

Eli raised an eyebrow. "Like I said, I'm not the one with the answers. Please go see-"

"-a professor, I know. You don't know anything, don't you?"

Eli shook his head.

"But you know someone."

"I said, this is my first year here. Considering the university just reopened two months ago, don't you think I haven't time to get to know that many people?"

A pause. Then, "Do you know David Estok?"

The medical student sighed, and massaged his temples. Of course it had to be about David. "Yeah, I know him. Why?"

"I want to have a chat with him."

* * *

><p>"Can I go out now?"<p>

"No, Professor! We have to get all the blood off first!" David threw a wet towel Coolidge's way, and the professor caught it one-handed.

"You must realise, this isn't Breloom blood."

"Yes, I know it isn't. Breloom blood is clear like water. Which reminds me, what are we going to do about that?" He pointed at the Breloom in three pieces on the floor. "If the police see that, we're both going to prison. On some island."

Coolidge nodded, wiping at the bloodstains on his forehead. "It's best if we don't give Hendricks any more ammunition to throw at you. I heard he turned you over to that Sergeant in the back room."

David shook his head in disbelief. "How do you know all that stuff? Weren't you busy with the project, and then woke up in some dungeon? Plus, no-one saw that guy but Craig and me."

"I know things." He said nothing more on the matter.

David tied his necktie and grabbed his messenger bag. "Well, I've got to go to a lecture this morning..._your_ lecture too, I think. There's pizza in the fridge, don't sleep on the bed, and goodbye!" He grabbed the doorknob, yanked it open, stepped outside and slammed it shut behind him.

He breathed a sigh of relief and checked his watch. An hour to go - plenty of time. _On the bright side,_ he thought_, at least I know why Professor Hart had a mental breakdown while in college_. Who could ever want Coolidge as a roommate?

"Hey, David!"

Eli came running up to him. "What've you been doing? I thought you said ten minutes?"

"I only took fifteen."

"You took twenty. I fell asleep on the stairs, and the janitor shouted at me. He threatened to not clean my room for a week."

"That's...harsh." David's eyes were still locked on the door, half-expecting Professor Coolidge to open it and walk out to greet Eli any moment. "What did you want to tell me?"

"There's a guy here to see you. Here," Eli said, handing David a rectangular piece of plastic with rounded corners. "He even gave me his business card."

The card read _August Klimn_ and right next to the name was a wheel cross. _Church of Arceus_ was stylised in cursive writing below the symbol. "And this guy found you where?"

"Parking lot in the city. He acted really weird, had a Raticate, too."

"Who owns a Raticate?"

Eli shrugged, said nothing.

"Where is he?"

"He's waiting for you downstairs. Said he wanted to talk to you about something that happened in relation to the Church this week."

_Ah, that_. David gave Eli the business card back. "Have you seen Ellen around?"

"Nah. She's probably getting ready or something. Class in one hour, right?"

"Right." David straightened his jacket and walked down the stairs. He was met by a strange sight: a hooded stranger was standing at the foot of the stairs, a nasty-looking Raticate on his left shoulder.

"David Estok?"

"Who's asking?"

The man pulled his hood down, revealing a lined face and grey hair. "I am Father August Klimn, a representative of the local Church of Arceus. There are matters we have to discuss concerning something that happened two days ago on-campus."

"Can we do this later? I've a class in an hour, not to mention an appointment before that."

"It'll only be five minutes, if you don't mind."

David shrugged. "Why not?"

"Walk with me."

David adjusted his pace so that he was on the same level as Father Klimn. "So, I guess the church got the message after all."

"It was most interesting. You said that it was authentic?"

David glanced behind him, only to see Eli going down another flight of stairs. Out of earshot. "Or an exact replica, I don't know. We still haven't found who's responsible."

"Can you..show me this cross?"

David bit his lip. He went silent for a moment. "I think I can, but it's not convenient now. I can assure you it's still in perfect condition."

"I'll be waiting."

"Where can I find you?"

"The park."

"See you then." He ran off.

Father Klimn said nothing.

* * *

><p>Three hard knocks out to do it. It didn't Ellen's door remained static, and he couldn't hear anything inside. He took out his phone and pressed on her name in the contacts list, but all he got was a series of tones. Either she wasn't picking up, or she didn't hear. Either way, he would have to go to the lecture without her.<p>

A small note that had been half-stuck in Ellen's mailbox came loose, and drifted to the ground like a leaf would fall from a tree. David picked it up.

It said, _Won't be in for lectures today. Please take notes. Love you. Ellen._

He sighed, and turned to leave.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Adam, who had been silently standing behind David all along, gave him a big smile. "Sorry, I just thought it would be funny."

"Well, it's not...wait, you're not going to talk about-"

"Craig? Yeah, of course. And me too. I'd like to get a briefing first on what Project Starfish is about."

David's eyes went wind. He grabbed Adam by the collar. "Where did you hear that?"

"Whoa, man, what do you mean? You sent me a text message last night saying that you want me to join Project Starfish. Right?" Adam looked worried now, a bed of sweat forming on his forehead. "Was it a mistake?"

_Coolidge_. "I don't even have your number!"

"Then...then who was it speaking?"

_Fucking Coolidge_. "It was someone posing as me, probably. I...I guess I'm going to have to show you now, eh?"

Adam's smiled even wider than before. "Now?"

"I've got a lecture in half an hour, and we're not going to make it there in time. Aren't you supposed to be looking at Ellen's schedule as well? As an apprentice, I mean."

"She let's me off."

David paused. He suddenly felt vibration in his pocket. From here, he could imagine his phone screen saying, _five minutes to lecture_. "I gotta go."

Adam shrugged. "As long as you keep your promise!"

"Just go...go hang out with Craig or something, alright? It's not like I'm your only friend or anything."

"I'll try find Ellen."

"Good. Tell me when you do."

* * *

><p>The lecture was absurdly borning. In contrast to Professor Hart or Professor Coolidge's colourful, dripping-with-sarcasm lectures, David was convinced that Professor Frobisher did not know how to make a proper joke out of anything.<p>

Maybe that had been why he hung out with Professor Hart so much. The thing about letting wild Miltanks loose in the campus a few weeks ago...maybe that had been Professor Frobisher trying to "get with the program". Though David dreaded what the "program" in Hart's sense would be.

"An MRI scan," droned on Professor Frobisher, "is the most common method of detecting brain damage in patients, people and pokemon alike."

_I have tried one myself and did not like the results_, he imagined Coolidge saying, and smiled a little.

The entirety of Professor Frobisher's voice faded away, and David began to remember all the things that had made him laugh. Ellen.

Before he knew it, the whole room was shifting, a sea of moving people heading for the doors in the back. He realised he hadn't heard the last few passages, and instinctively looked around for anyone to help him.

Tommy.

"Hey!"

The boy turned, and David saw a look of surprise. "We were sitting _this_ close? I thought you'd be like, way at the front."

"I was a bit late." He looked at the notebook in Tommy's hands. "Can I copy your notes? Missed some."

"Daydreaming again?"

David gave him a puzzled look.

"What? You look like the kind of person who would daydream twenty-four-seven."

David scoffed. "Good to know."

They went outside, and sat down at a stone table at the edge of the plaza. David flicked through the pages of Tommy's notebook, and jotted down whatever he didn't have in his.

"If I were you, I'd just go look the notes up in the textbooks."

"I've got to copy the notes for a friend. She doesn't seem to think the textbooks are better. Something about the professor's experience being better."

"Wait, she?" Tommy's eyes widened. "So this girl...friend...is there a friendzone between those two words?"

David could feel his face burning up. He turned away from Tommy, and hid behind his notebook. "None of your business."

"I'll take that as a no, then." He smiled warmly. "I wish I had a girlfriend. I've never been good with girls."

"Don't sweat it," said David. "One day you'll find someone who's perfect for you."

"Why does everyone say that? It's like...salting the wound, if you know what I mean." He glanced at the sky.

"Sorry," he said, closing Tommy's book and handing it back. "Thanks for the notes." He placed his own book inside his bag, and stood up.

"Wait," said Tommy. He tossed a small plastic card at David. He caught it. The card looked just like Father Kilmn's.

"Is this a new trend or what?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Everyone seems to have a business card these days."

"I dunno, but, call me if you need help or anything."

"Will do." He turned around and headed back to his dormitory building. The walk was as uneventful as a walk through a university campus could be.

Today was quiet. Quiet, and peaceful, compared to the events of the last few days. With the exception of Coolidge, covered from head to toe in blood, of course. That was a problem he would have to solve.

As David pulled out his room key, he paused. At the base of the door, almost invisible to the naked eye, was a small pool of red liquid.

_I can handle myself, eh?_ David took the pokeball out of his bag, unlocked the door and gradually eased it open.

Even in the dim light, David saw that the body of the disassembled Breloom was gone, and a watery trail led to where he was standing. What must be the contents of his cupboard were half on the floor, half tucked into one corner. Among the mess were rolls of duct tape, and pieces of rope.

More importantly, however, was the fact that Professor Coolidge was nowhere in sight.

* * *

><p>"I told you to stay in the room!" David nearly shouted. In the last second before his outburst, the look of several students talking to Coolidge reduced his volume to a mere whisper. "What's happening?" he asked instead.<p>

Harley saw him and pulled him aside. "Professor Coolidge is trying to find a thief."

"When did he get here?"

"Two hours ago. Why?"

_Shit. That's right after I left. "_Nothing_. _You said a thief?"

"Someone stole the latest version of our serum. Professor thinks it's one of us, given what happened with George, but...

"But you don't think they're going to risk another spy in our project, right? I'm not sure that's entirely true. You think that, but what if they expected it? What if they used that against you?"

"And what if they used _that_ against you."

"Exactly. There's no way we can know. So don't overthink it."

Harley nodded, just as Professor Coolidge joined them. "I'm glad you're here, David. Harley, I'm going to need to talk to him in private, so if you could just..."

"Of course." He went back to his usual workstation.

David's attention snapped back onto Coolidge. "How did you wash the blood off?"

"I didn't."

A beat. "I'm sorry what?"

"I walked here and took a chemical bath."

"And no-one saw you?"

"David, I thought you'd know by now that me walking around covered in blood isn't such a rare sight."

"If you told me last night, I could have let you out." On the other hand, David was still trying to wrap his head around the professor's statement. "Where's the Breloom?"

"In the fridge."

"Okay: how did you get _that_ here? It's not some small object you can just carry around."

"I put it in a bin bag and acted like I had a cadaver for the new project."

That explained the rolls of duct tape and bin bags all over the floor of his apartment. "Wow, you're...more resourceful than I thought, Professor."

"I'm guessing Ellen didn't turn up this morning," said Coolidge nonchalantly, using a small pocket knife to slice open the bin bag with the Breloom remains in it. "Did you get a note?"

"How did you…" He broke off, realising that any further question on how Coolidge knew about everything was pointless. Recomposing himself, he decided to change the question. "Have you done an autopsy?"

"I was waiting for you to do that."

David took a look at the body and shook his head. "I can hardly figure out how someone died, much less a pokemon. At the very least you'd need someone studying Forensic Sciences."

"And do you know anyone like that?"

"No." His fingers brushed the lump in his pocket that was his phone. "Though Adam might." His eyes widened. "Speaking of Adam, did you invite him to Starfish?"

"And Craig," noted Coolidge. He plucked a phone out from inside his lab coat. David instantly recognised it as his old mobile.

"That's mine."

Coolidge handed it back to him. "What time did you tell Adam to come here?"

"What time…?" It hit him. They had made an appointment, hadn't they. He looked at the screens wired to the cameras, and saw Adam standing around all fidgety in the lobby. "I better go meet him."

"You should."

David activated the door, and moved out into the brightly-lit lobby.

Adam saw him almost instantly, and moved towards Craig. "So...where's this Project Starfish?"

David made a _shush_ing sound and put a finger to his lips. "There could have been somebody around here."

"I looked. There wasn't. And the receptionist clearly knows about it."

David looked at the red-haired woman at the counter, who smiled and waved a little. "It wasn't me who invited you," explained David. "It was the Professor using my phone."

"What...exactly do you do here?"

"In due time. Follow me." He dragged Adam into the stairwell, and under the stair. David put a finger to the hidden door and rubbed it. The hardened Swalot gel fell away as white powder, and David produced a key. He inserted it into the now-visible keyhole, and turned it a full revolution.

The entire wall separated down the middle, and opened down to the hub. Out of the corner of his eye, David could see Adam gawking at the size of the room, and gave him a pat on the back. "You should close that mouth. Never know what the guys are up to again - might have some kind of insect flying around. Yes, the place is really big. Ah, there's the professor."

Coolidge took Adam's hand and shook it. "Welcome! Where's Craig?"

Adam mumbled something. David frowned. "What'd you say?"

Adam shook his head in disbelief. "C-C-Craig is b-busy."

"Why are you so shocked?" asked Professor Coolidge.

David raised an eyebrow; there was in, in fact, something that Coolidge did not know. His amusement was soon swept away by a new thought. What if Coolidge only knew everything about _him_? He shook the idea away and re-focused on Adam.

"Wow," said Adam. "When did you put this together? I mean, it's practically just behind the lobby counter. But isn't the server room supposed to be there?"

"Oh, it's there all right," said Coolidge, "it's just that we _are_ in the server room…" His voice trailed off as he led Adam to the centre of the hub, showing him the Staryu and Starmie and the various students working on Regenerator.

David smiled a little to himself, and caught up with them in front of the Chemical Storage room. Coolidge was about to push open the door when David put a hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Hey, do you happen to know anyone studying Forensic Sciences?"

A look of surprise crossed his face. "Now that you say it, I think…" He paused for a moment, contemplating the students he'd seen before. "Karl!"

"Who's Karl?"

"Karl, Limett. I've seen him around the hospital."

David glanced at the Breloom corpse. "Thanks a lot, man. You think he can do an autopsy on a pokemon?"

"You've got a dead pokemon?"

"It's complicated." He nodded to Coolidge to continue the tour. "I'll see you in around an hour, or two."

* * *

><p>It was the darkest room in the hospital. Occasionally, the blinds would shift, as if manipulated by some unseen force, and a staccato of light played across the room. David flinched as filtered sunlight danced across his cheek, and suddenly became aware of a dark figure standing on the far side of the room.<p>

"Can I help you?" it came out as a hoarse whisper, of someone who hadn't spoken very much.

"Are you Karl Limett?"

The figure shifted, and suddenly a pair of bright blue eyes was staring at David in the darkness. "Who's asking."

"I'm David Estok." He reached out for a handshake. There was a brief of movement of the eyes to his hand, then back to his face.

The dark figure that was Karl seemed to ignore the hand. "Why have you come here?"

David heaved the bin bag he had re-taped closed over his shoulder and dumped it on an empty metal table. "I want you to do an autopsy on a corpse for me."

A flash of consideration into the eyes, and Karl turned. "Lights," he said. The lights came on, and then a pale boy - unhealthily pale - with eyes sunken into his skull was standing in front of him. Locks of jet black hair fell to his shoulders, kept in an untidy disaster that was a cross between an afro and dreadlocks. Which was like nothing he had ever seen. A pawniard was standing at the light switch.

Karl glided, for there was no other word for the noiseless movement he made, towards the table, and tore the duct-taped bin bag open, exposing the Breloom corpse inside. He frowned. "I wasn't expecting a pokemon."

"Can you identify the cause of death?"

"Of course," said Karl, smirking. He used a small piplette to suck up some liquid from inside the bag. "The question is: can you pay for it?"

David responded by throwing a small clip of banknotes at Karl.

The boy smiled, and then put the cash into his pocket. He transferred the liquid to a microscope slide, and zoomed in on it. "Hmmm...that's...strange. When did you find the body?"

"Last night."

"It should have decomposed by now. The concentration of fungal matter in the blood says that this Breloom was killed two days ago."

"What?" He looked into the microscope. "That's not possible. Shouldn't it be fertiliser by now?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Something is keeping this corpse from decomposing." Karl moved to the torn flesh. "It appears to have been decapitated by an electric saw."

Electric saw pointed towards engineering. David wrote it down on his little notepad. "Can you get any DNA off the body?"

Karl scraped something from between the red claws of the Breloom. He held it up to the light, and David saw that it was skin. Scraped skin. "I already did." Karl put it in a plastic ziploc bag. "I don't have a database here, so I can't help you with that."

David took the bag from him. "What are you gonna do with the body?"

"What do you want me to do with it?"

David paused. "Keep it on ice or something. There might be new developments." He stepped away from the operating table. His hand was on the doorknob when Karl spoke up:

"Do I tell anyone about this?"

"No. Tell nobody." He pushed the door open and disappeared into the dark hallway.

* * *

><p>"Father!"<p>

The hooded man on the park bench turned, squinting bright afternoon sun at David, who was running towards him.

"I nearly missed our appointment! Been busy all day, sorry." He sat down next to the priest and panted.

"Oh, it's of no matter. Had you not come I would have returned tomorrow." Father Klimn smiled at David. "Can I see the cross?"

David gave him a couple of printed images from the Project Starfish printer, which showed the wheel-cross before and after Liala disassembled it. "The wood is mostly pine, but the extremities are made of balsa wood."

Father Klimn's lips set. "Arceus wheel-crosses only use pine wood to make…"

"I'm aware."

"...originally. After the dispute with Sinnoh, the Church has been finding it difficult to maintain a constant supply of pine wood. There have been several cases in which we were forced to use cheaper balsa instead."

"So this could be authentic?"

Father Klimn nodded. "The shape is right, the colours are right.; I don't know, David, how anyone got this kind of thing. It's limited almost exclusively to our chapels, and robberies are almost unheard of."

"Almost?"

"Four years ago, the church in Lavaridge was broken into by a local gang. They took everything, including the cross."

David pursed his lips. "What if this was _that _cross?"

"It can't be," Father Klimn looked determined. "The police got that cross back. Although…" Father Klimn paused, deep in thought. "...it could be a perfect replica. If one of those thieves got away they could have replicated it."

"So you agree it could be someone from that event?"

He nodded. "I was there the night of the robbery. They were boys, all younger than you - Arceus bless them." He went quiet for a moment, then continued. "You wouldn't believe the things they've been through."

"David stood up, and extended a hand to Father Klimn. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Father. Will you come back here some time?"

Father Klimn shook David's hand, and shook his head. "I'm afraid I have business at Mt. Pyre, to exorcise some malevolent spirits that have been terrorising the people."

"Until next time, then."

"Of course."

* * *

><p>David disengaged the phone call; Ellen was still not answering. He crossed the road in front of the dormitory building, and started up the stairs.<p>

"Wait, David!" It was Professor Coolidge, holding his work briefcase. Sheets of paper stuck out of the clearly overloaded case, some even drifting towards the floor as he ran towards David.

"Professor?"

Just then, there was the loud honk of a horn, and a pair of headlights illuminated Professor Coolidge. The professor sprinted just as the truck cruised past, barely missing him. The driver shouted something at him, but it was lost in the roaring of his vehicle.

Coolidge threw the briefcase down, sending papers flying, and then grabbed the banister for support. "Whew, that was close!" He looked more delighted than relieved.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at Starfish all night?"

"Considering Professor Ravensdale figured something was up, I am now on paperwork duty." He pointed at the briefcase on the floor. "I know you don't want to, but you'll have to cover for me."

"Alright. I'll do it. On one condition, though."

Coolidge smiled.

"If you find Ellen, tell her that I'm busy, and ask her for me where she's been today."

"Of course! I'll use your room."

"Wait-" But Coolidge had already run up the stairs, and seconds later David heard a door open and close. He didn't doubt that it was his room. He sighed, and headed back across the road, making sure to look both ways.

The moon was waxing, and it was a delightfully yellow colour, like you would see on cheese. He chuckled as he remembered how he used to think the moon was really made out of cheese.

The pokeball on his belt popped open, and Furret jumped out, rolling in the grass. David knelt down to rub its fur, and lifted it in his arms. Furret quickly worked itself free of its owner's fingers and curled around David's neck instead. It purred softly.

As David got close to the Chemistry faculty, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right. Maybe it was him staying up too late, or Furret popping unexpectedly out of his pokeball, or Coolidge nearly being hit by a truck. Or was it Ellen, who had been missing the whole day? It didn't seem like her at all.

David stopped when he saw the empty reception counter. He prodded Furret, who jumped off his shoulder and ran to the doors. He pushed them open, and Furret slid over the counter. Seconds later, it popped its head up and shook its head.

"Hello?" David called, half-expecting the receptionist to come out of the bathroom, hoping it was a coincidence that she had gone just as he had arrived.

But of course, this being Project Starfish's base of operations, there were no such thing as coincidences.

David entered the stairwell. He inserted the key in the keyhole, and then-

A loud screech had him reeling back, as a Galvantula dropped from above and pinned him own with its powerful legs. A yellow web shot at Furret, and glued it against the wall. Of its own accord, the wall split open.

The hub was a total mess; tables laid half-turned over, the Staryu and Starmie tank was smashed, and the door to the chemical storage had an ugly dent in it. From his position, David noticed a figure - a _masked_ figure - detaching itself from the corners of the hub.

"Why, why, David, you're here just in time for the party!" exclaimed the masked student that had been the bane of David's investigation in the past few days. Now that he heard the boy clearly, it seemed...familiar somehow.

The air shimmered beside the masked student, and his Rotom materialised, sparks flying off it and into various metal objects around the room. One of those included the phone in David's pocket, which sent a jolt of pain up his spine.

"What do you want?"

"I've got what I wanted," said the masked boy, showing David a vial of clear solution. A Regenerator sample.

Through gritted teeth, David said, "Then why are you still here? Why not just run?"

"Because I was waiting for you." The masked boy drew a pistol from his belt and pulled the slide back. He let go, and smiled with satisfaction at the _click_ as it snapped back into position. "Now, where was I?" He pointed the gun at David, helplessly trapped under the Galvantula's weight.

"Please…" He struggled, but the razor-sharp mandibles slid close to his face, and he stopped.

"Oh yes, _goodbye_." His finger tightened on the trigger.

David closed his eyes.


	6. Episode 6: Reckoning, Part 2

**Episode 6: Reckoning, Part 2**

_Click_.

David opened his eyes to see the masked boy tossing the apparently empty pistol away. "I would never do that," he exclaimed, kicking a rubbish bin over as if to prove a point. His gaze gravitated toward the chemical storage door for a split second, and then David knew where the others were.

"You've got what you want; just go!"

The student squinted through his mask. "No, I think I'll have some fun first." He picked up a piece of paper from the only standing table in the room. Something was scrawled on one side in messy handwriting. Names.

In half a second David figured it all out. Not that he could do anything about it, the powerful legs of the Galvantula pinning him down to the floor. Furet was glued to the wall by a large, yellow spider web.

"This one!" The masked boy pointed at a name on the paper and showed it to the flickering Rotom, who vanished into thin air. "Might as well collect the whole set," he muttered.

_The whole set…?_ David recoiled as a flash of lightning streaked towards him, but missed him completely. A dark tear in the very fabric of reality appeared, like a black cloth hanging in midair. It warped constantly, as if...gurgling, and then a person was spit out.

Liala Ritt pushed herself off the ground, and stared at the masked boy. Malice burned in her eyes like a swarm of Volbeat at night. She said nothing as she was hoisted up by her arms, a pair of shadowy tendrils having wrapped around them.

"I liked your step-sister," said the masked boy in an apologetic tone. "She was always nice to me. Never got into bed with her, and that's something I regret."

Liala spat, but the glob of spit was poorly aimed and whizzed past the masked boy's head, hitting the floor.

"We got a feisty one here, eh?" he asked, directing the question at David. Liala noticed him, and gave him a look that dripped with the word "sorry." Sorry to be a burden, that was.

"Just let her go! You've got the sample!" David shouted.

"I think _will_ collect the whole set." He drew out a long stiletto knife, and held it to her throat. "Now, David. Tell me, where's your father?"

* * *

><p>"You asked for me?" said the woman clad in a black tracksuit, opening the window to David's room. In the low light, Professor Coolidge could be seen slouched in the armchair, a glowing phone in one hand.<p>

"Yes. Yes, I did." He shifted, and pocketed the phone. The air in the room seemed to turn a few degrees colder as he looked at the green eyes concealed behind the balaclava. "Was that your idea of a joke? Killing the Breloom?"

"It was the boss'," she replied. She glided across the room to stand directly in front of Coolidge.

"What does he want?"

"The boss? You already know."

"No, the masked boy," said Coolidge. "David told me about him. He controlled the Breloom earlier, and then pushed Anna Ritt off a building. What can he possibly gain from that?"

"If circumstances had been different, Professor, I would tell you. But considering your actions of the past few days…"

"Your boss has ordered you not to tell me," he finished. "I understand. But perhaps you could tell me his motivation."

"My dear Sebastian, he is motivated only by vengeance."

Coolidge blew out his cheeks. "I assume you've been watching him for quite some time now."

"I have. He's very close. You'll meet him someday. Smart man like you should be able to tell from a glance who he is."

Coolidge scoffed and gave a dismissive wave. "Since you can't tell me anything, why don't you just leave? Go and do whatever your boss tells you to."

"Sure," she said. "We see each other every day anyway."

"We've never actually talked," said Coolidge. He checked his phone, saw the time and threw his head back. "Why do you have to come at this time?"

"It's our creed, I suppose. Only in night's dead."

"Revenge about what?" wondered Coolidge aloud. Why Starfish? Why regenerator? Did he have cancer? A relative perhaps? The possibilities were infinite. "One more thing concerns me," he said to the woman, "about David. Blunchuss targeted the serum, but the masked boy seems to focus on David."

The balaclava made it hard to see, but Coolidge saw the woman's eyes shift in presence of a smile. "Maybe you should ask yourself that, Sebastian."

"You mean remind myself why I chose him?"

"You've got it." A beep, and the woman raised her arm. A slight glow from the pager slightly illuminated her mouth - it was thick with red lipstick. _Who uses a pager anymore?_ he thought, and then pushed the thought away immediately. "Ah, I've a chore to do. Never the right time, isn't it?"

"It is because of his father?" Coolidge's voice trembled like the string on a guitar that had been plucked.

She went silent, and then climbed out the window, into the chilly night. Her silhouette slipped out of the window frame. "Oh, and, speaking of David, you might want to go help him," came her voice from outside.

Coolidge got up and ran to the window, poking his head out. But she was gone.

* * *

><p>"I don't know!" David protested, trying to push the Galvantula off him, but it refused to budge.<p>

The knife moved closer to Liala's throat, so close it made her artery pulse just under the skin. One fluid motion would send pints and pints spilling over the floor.

"They always say that," said the masked boy. He switched the knife from his right hand to his left, tossing it like a juggler would toss balls.

_Good with knives_, noted David. "Dammit! I don't know!"

"Well, maybe this will jog your memory-"

A large dark purple glob flew across the room and smacked into Galvantula. The large spider shrieked as it moved from over David's body, trying to get the acidic substance off its body. A sizzling sound could be heard, and David realised Galvantula was on fire. The smell of burning fur was overwhelming as Galvantula turned into a walking fireball.

The masked boy had paused, and his hand that held the knife dropped slightly, below the carotid artery. He was staring at the burning Galvantula, which had collapsed to the ground, not even twitching.

In the acrid smoke that followed - which the receptionist would have detected by now - a figure emerged into the chaos. But the alarm never came. Instead came the roar of Coolidge's Armaldo, as it swiftly cut the body of the Galvantula in half with one swift stroke.

David scrambled for cover as Swalot fired again the blob of fluid missing the masked boy, but the splash of it against metal splattering it all over his coat. Realising what was about to happen, he turned and ran, but not before David saw Coolidge raise a boxy device, as if he was holding a rifle.

Suddenly, the tails of the masked boy's coat burst into flames, just as Rotom appeared to whisk him away. He shrugged off the coat in a panic and disappeared into the shroud of darkness.

David grabbed the sprinkler lever and pulled it with all his might, causing the ceiling to burst into a dazzling shower of cold water. He slumped against the wall, and watched the abandoned coat on the ground fizzled out.

"Are you okay? I called you and you didn't pick up." Coolidge held a pokeball in one hand; Armaldo and Swalot were nowhere in sight. But what intrigued David was the device in his hands. It looked like a cross between a speedometer and a ray gun, with tubes running along the side. "Thank god I told the receptionist to go home."

"Yeah, I am." David stood up and tried to dust himself off, but the soot had dissolved in the sprinkler water and absorbed into his coat. His best coat.

"Oh, sorry if that's ruined," said Coolidge upon seeing his face. "I'd buy you a new one, but most of my income goes into this project."

"It's alright professor." David pointed at the Chemical Storage room. "I think the others are in there."

In less than an hour, the hub was tidied up, which was in part thanks to Harley's Gulpin acting as a trash can for anything they didn't need. Any shards of broken glass were vacuumed up by the little green pokemon as it roved around the circular room.

"Whew." Coolidge pulled up close to David, at a metal lab table which the masked boy's coat had been placed. "That was close. Everyone, you're free to go. Take tomorrow off if you want. The next day too, in fact. You deserve it."

The assembled students nodded and returned to their dorms. David was the last to leave. "There's one more thing, Professor." He removed the DNA sample he had gotten from Karl from a drawer in the wall, and was glad the masked boy's attack hadn't damaged it. "I think it's the DNA of whoever control that was."

Coolidge took it and held it up to the light. "Good job, David. Who did you go to see?"

"Karl Limett."

There was a pause as Coolidge delved deep into his own thoughts, and then resurfaced. "That's fine. He won't say anything."

David wasn't ready to tell Professor Coolidge about the boy asking for his father, so he left it at that. He nodded, and promptly left without another word.

* * *

><p>It took him ten minutes to get back to the dorm building, lagged down a little by his soaked and filthy coat. The stairs were tiring, and caused an annoying ache in the middle of his back, brought on by having a Galvantula hold him to the floor. When he reached his floor, his back hurt like hell, but he didn't notice. Because Ellen was sitting on a bench in the corridor, asleep.<p>

He nudged her awake, and her eyes fluttered open, albeit a bit hazily. "Did-did Idoze off?" she asked.

David smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, you sort of did. Right outside my room." He unlocked the door and beckoned for her to go in. "Make yourself at home."

He went into the bathroom and took a long, warm shower, but not before tossing his clothes playfully out the door to Ellen, who recoiled laughing. "Where've you been?" she asked when he emerged clean and clad in shorts and a t-shirt. She was holding his soggy coat.

"No, no, the question, where have _you _been? I've been trying to find you the whole day? Oh," he added, digging through his bag for the notebook, which he threw at Ellen. "Those are the notes you wanted."

She caught it one-handed. "Didn't your parents teach you not to throw stuff at ladies, David?" She struck an annoyed pose. "I've been out all day."

"Where did you go?"

"Mauville."

He narrowed his eyes. "You went to Mauville before I was up, and just came back?" He was mystified. What the heck had she been doing?

"I have to show you something." Her hand dipped into her purse, and came out with a red-and-white ball.

"You went and got a pokemon?" His eyes widened.

"Yes." She tossed the ball in her hands. "I thought it was time I became more responsible for everything I do, and that having a pokemon would be that but…" She broke off.

"But what? Ellen, you're literally the most responsible person I've ever met. You don't need a pokemon to help you with responsibility."

"...I was just thinking that getting you to take my lecture notes wasn't so responsible after all."

David laughed. "Well, what's done is done. Which pokemon did you get?"

She threw the pokeball towards one of the walls, and it burst open upon impact. The moment David saw the cream-and-brown fur, he almost thought Ellen had gotten a Furret like him, but when he saw it clearly he realised it was a Zigzagoon.

"Meet Ziggy," said Ellen, taking the Zigzagoon in her arms and ruffling its fur. "I spent the entire day training him to like me. The daycare lady said he's a very stubborn one, but he's the last, so I took him."

"How cliche. The runt of the litter?" He petted Ziggy on the head, and the pokemon made a low sound.

"Not really. Someone else took the runt."

David climbed onto his bed. "Well, I suppose I should go to sleep now. Been a long day."

Ellen opened the door a crack. "You sure you're fine? Should I stay over?"

David raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" Unknown to Ellen, his cheeks were actually heating up. Despite having slept in the same bed before, Ellen had never been the one to actively ask for it. Did she...

"No, actually." she replied, giving him a thoughtful look. David felt as if his hopes had fallen from the top of Mt. Pyre and hit the jagged rocks that lined the port. "See you around, I guess. I have to take care of Ziggy."

She left, and the room was silent.

* * *

><p>When David woke up, he thought he had a hangover. He was draped over the side of the bed, with his head hanging off the edge. His head felt like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer, and strobe lights flashed in and out of his vision. Luckily for him, though, today was a Saturday. That meant no lectures, which was good, because if he had to sit through a lecture, he'd have to kill someone.<p>

Shock and horror came when he spotted Furret lying on the floor, quite dead. No, not dead, just unconscious. What had happened last night?

Furret started snoring, a cute little sound just like Ellen made when she scoffed. He mentally slapped himself for thinking about Ellen again. Now wasn't the time. He had to ask Coolidge.

There were three knocks on the door. He opened it a fraction and peeked out with one eye. "Tommy?"

"Mornin'," said Tommy Winslow. "Dude, you look terrible. What have you been doing…" He trailed off. "Is that girl - space - friend of yours in there by any chance?" He tried to look around the door, but David held onto it tight.

"Ellen's not here. How do you know where my room was?"

"Eli told me."

His eyes widened. "Why would Eli tell you where I live?"

"I...lied to him about you helping me with a project."

"That was low. One moment." David slammed the door shut, and went into the bathroom to change. He opened the door again five minutes later. "Why did you want to see me?"

"This was on the stairs." He handed David a plastic card with Father Klimn's name on it. David took it slowly, not even remembering that he had dropped it. Probably after the masked boy's attack.

"You pray to Arceus now?"

"No, it's just business. Wait, how did you know this was mine?" He raised an eyebrow. Something clicked at the back of his mind. What if Tommy was the masked boy? Good with knives...but was Tommy confident enough around knives to toss them around?

"I saw you with the hooded guy yesterday, thought that might have been Father Klimn, because like, no-one but the Church of Arceus dresses like that. So I thought of you when I saw this card."

"Oh."

"What about my card? Lost it yet?"

_The card could have a transmitter_, he thought. _He could be tracking me_. "Ah, no, I've got it. He took it out of his bag and waved it at Tommy. "See? Good as new."

A brunette girl appeared behind Tommy. "Hey, David!" she called. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," she added as she spotted Tommy talking to him.

"What is it, Kylie?" Kylie Morgan was Professor Coolidge's liaison with the other toxicology students, being an expert in the field herself. Her job at Starfish was to check for potentially dangerous formulas for humans. She and David didn't talk much, but in the occasion that they did, the topic of the conversation often fell into crime TV series that they both watched.

"The Professor wants to talk to you."

"Ah," He turned off the lights in his room, and locked the door behind him. He turned to Tommy. "I've got an errand to run. See you later."

He walked down the building with Kylie. "I thought you guys had a day off today?"

"We're doing it in our free time. You might not see it, but there are some of us who want to see this project to the end. It's become quite an integral part of our lives."

He nodded. "So where are we going?"

"The break room in the hospital."

"I'm going to venture a guess and say Adam told you about it."

"Yes, he did. He's there right now."

They arrived at the hospital, which was eerily empty. Again, there had been no incidents where anyone needed medical treatment. That is, that the hospital knew of. Kylie and David took the elevator up to the fourth floor.

Most of Project Starfish was crammed into the room, some sitting on the floor and others leaning against the walls. Professor Coolidge sat in the middle, twiddling his thumbs and deep in thought. He saw David and brightened up instantly.

"David!" He stood up and took David out of the room. There was nobody in the corridor. "I need to talk to you about yesterday. The masked boy...what did he want?"

"The Regenerator sample," he said. It was the answer he'd given to the other members of the project when they asked.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"He asked about my father."

A shadow of surprise crossed Professor Coolidge's face, and then it was gone as fast as it had appeared. He said nothing.

"Professor, why did you choose me?"

"Hmmm?"

"Of all the people doing medicine, you selected me. A month ago you said that you've been watching me for a long time. Why? Karl would be a better choice, wouldn't he? He does Forensics, which I can't do."

"He's antisocial."

"That's not true, isn't it? I mean, yeah, he's really antisocial, but that's not why you chose me instead." Coolidge was staring at his feet. "Professor?"

"Henry said this day would come," he muttered.

"What?"

"It's because of your father, David. I chose you because of your father." Coolidge took off his glasses and wiped them for a long time. His face was drooped into a sad frown, like someone had died.

"You knew my father?"

Coolidge nodded, and slipped his spectacles back on. "Since we were little. Henry used to go to science museums in Lavaridge, where we grew up, and he'd take me along. We gawked at all the stuff." Coolidge's voice broke a little, and he coughed to get it under control. "When I heard he was going to explore Solara Isle, I wanted to go. He wouldn't let me. And then…"

"...he never came back." It had been all over the news. Archaeologist Henry Estok had been lost at sea two years ago, despite having a Lanturn to help him. David remembered his sister crying in the corner, clutching the soggy paper in her hand. The funeral had taken place the week after, but by then the air had gotten sour. Nothing had been the same again.

"The things I would give to have gone with him…" Coolidge broke off, swallowing loudly.

"Are you okay, Professor?"

Coolidge nodded and smiled weakly. "I'm-I'm quite alright. This is just emotional feedback from recounting the events." He took a deep breath. "Henry was like a brother I never had, you know."

"I understand," said David. He hated seeing the Professor like this: a total wreck, fawning over the foregone days that cannot be repaired. So he changed the topic. "What do you think the boy wants with my dad?"

"I can't imagine…" Coolidge whispered, and then his face turned into one of pondering. "It might have been something we did. This sounds to me like revenge."

"Can you think of anything?"

"We started Project Starfish - or what would become this, anyway - together long ago. It was just a mutual interest in Starmie regeneration, brought on by your father researching historical uses of Staryu and Starmie. We talked a lot, argued a lot, even made other scientists quite angry at us, but there's nothing I can think of."

David said nothing.

"After he _disappeared_," continued Coolidge, not wanting to use the other word, "I decided I had to keep doing it. For him. And when I saw you, you reminded me of him. You even inherited his genetic curiosity, like he used to say. You're very observant, and that prompted me to choose you."

David blew out his cheeks. "I never really knew my father." He felt his voice begin to crack. "He was always travelling, and occasionally he would pop home for a visit, but we never saw much of him. When the news came, it was like…"

"Like being hit by a freight train?" Coolidge laughed. His serious tone seemed to have disappeared.

"Almost...yes, like that."

"David." Coolidge put a hand on his shoulder. "I know he's gone, but, he's here in the spirit. In you. You're his son, and nothing can change that. No-one can take that away from you."

"I know."

_Beep_. Coolidge took his phone out and checked the message. "Way to ruin the mood," he muttered. "Ah, our special guest is here. And we're going to see Professor Hart."

David had regained composure, and was blinking rapidly. "Special guest?"

"You'll see."

* * *

><p>Professor Helen Langley from IT had jet black hair with red highlights, and looked like a patron from one of the bars in town. To tell the truth, she did frequent those kind of places (as Coolidge said) but she didn't drink.<p>

"David Estok," her voice had a slight accent as she rose from her seat beside Professor Hart's empty bed. "Good to finally meet you at last." She caught him looking at the vacant bed. "Oh, he's out walking. Doctor says it's good for his back."

David smiled at that. At least Professor Hart was recovering; he had panicked a little when Dr. Xavier told him he had a slightly fractured spine. "Professor Coolidge said you can help me with DNA."

"Yes. I hacked into Lavaridge PD's database based on the info Coolidge gave me, and got a match for you."

"You hacked-"

"_Shhhhhhhhh!_ Don't use that word." Professor Langley put a finger over David's lips.

"Okay," he said weakly after she removed the finger.

She handed him a file and winked. "Good luck with your investigation."

David flipped the folder open, and saw a face he didn't recognise at all. He read the name. _Franklin Lament_. The picture was a short, ugly boy with a mop of red hair. He thanked Professor Langley, and was about to leave when he heard Professor Hart's voice.

"Honey, I'm back!"

The door swung open and there stood Professor Hart in a medical gown, supported by a nurse. Professor Langley's face turned beet red. The massive smile on Professor Hart's face faded as he saw David. David scrambled out of the room, and heard the sound of Coolidge laughing maniacally.

* * *

><p>That evening, the woman came to see Professor Coolidge in his office. She had knocked on his window, and he had reluctantly opened it to allow her entry, although he was sure she could have gotten in without his help.<p>

"The nights are getting colder and colder," she complained as she climbed through the window. Her slender frame easily slipped under the half-open blinds.

Coolidge slumped back on his seat. "Helen said it was a boy called Franklin Lament."

"I'll be damned if I know. Names hardly mean anything these days." She sat on the edge of his desk. "Why did you summon me?"

"I wanted to ask you about Henry."

"Ask away."

"What did he - did _we_ do to get David in so much trouble? It was supposed to be smooth sailing, if you don't mind the pun."

She cocked her head. "You haven't told him."

"Told him what?" He received no answer. "I'm tired of all this secretive shit. Tell your bosses I need to know now, for the sake of the students."

"I'm afraid I don't have the power to do that. You did try to snoop around."

"And here you are, helping me." Coolidge spun in his seat.

"Look, I want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do, but there are certain rules that cannot be broken."

"Willpower alone can break them," muttered Coolidge.

There was a long silence.

"I'm going to tell him today," she finally said.

"How are you going to do it?" Coolidge wasn't even listening, flicking his pens into an empty coffee cup on the other side of the table.

"I have my ways." She ducked under the opening in the window and slipped out again, disappearing into the black night.

* * *

><p>Ellen's Zigzagoon came bounding down the stairs before her, jumping at David. He caught the furry pokemon in his arms, and a long, wet tongue licked his face. He laughed and held Ziggy away from him, the pokemon panting heavily.<p>

"He's cute, isn't he?" Ellen took Ziggy from David, hugging it close to her body. "Last night I nearly couldn't sleep because he wouldn't."

"Tell me about it. This morning I woke up and furret looked like he was dead on the floor."

Ellen laughed. "You really should name him, in case you meet somebody who has a Furret."

"I've been trying for the past year," he replied, putting a hand in his pocket and remembered suddenly that his phone had been destroyed by Anna Ritt's Galvantula. He took it out. "He likes to be called 'Furret'. It's like having a dog that wants to be named 'Dog'."

"Maybe you should get someone's psychic pokemon to read his mind and ask what his name really is," suggested Ellen.

David struck a thinking pose, and then stopped when Ellen laughed. "What? I was just thinking it through. Who has a psychic pokemon around here?"

"There's a girl from Archaeology...Hannah, I think her name was."

"What's the pokemon?"

"I don't remember. But I guess we'll see."

"Can I borrow your phone? I broke mine."

She handed it to him. David opened up the numpad and typed in Professor Coolidge's number.

"Hello! Are you here to buy Miltank?"

"Erm...no," replied David. "This is David Estok."

"Ah, David! I should have offered to buy you a new phone too, shouldn't I? Afraid the budget's out repairing the lab. I'm selling Miltank to raise money now."

"Can I have Professor Hart's phone number? I never got the chance to get it off him."

"Alright, note this down…"

Ellen mouth the words _Who's that?_ at him.

He mouthed back _Coolidge_, and she frowned. "Thanks, Professor." He hung up and typed in Professor Hart's number. He picked up after seven tones.

"Evening."

"Professor Hart, this is David Estok."

"David? Who gave you my number?"

"Professor Coolidge did."

There was a pause, and the sound of something made of glass crashing to the hospital room floor. "Can-can you please calmly tell Sebastian to take his head and stick it up-" David didn't hear the rest of the insults, holding his phone away from his ear. Ellen raised an eyebrow at it, and he just smiled.

He brought the phone back to his ear after a while. "I'm looking for one of your students, Professor. Someone called Hannah-"

"-Kolova," finished the professor. "She usually hangs out in the Archaeology building. Dunno why, but she does. Goodbye."

"Wait-" David heard the flat tone and sighed. He'd been about to ask what pokemon Hannah had.

"Shall we go?" asked Ellen, extending an arm.

David locked arms with her and headed away from the dorm building, towards Professor Hart's Archaeology building.

They found Hannah Kolova in the lobby, her red hair trailing behind her as she walked past them, earphones plugged in and probably blaring music. She didn't see them, just continued on towards the entrance, despite that being the way they had entered from.

"Hannah," called David. There was no response as the redhead pushed one of the glass doors open, and stepped outside.

Ellen giggled at David, and then walked outside. She tapped Hannah on the shoulder.

"Wha-" Hannah ripped her headphones off and stared at Ellen. "Can I help you?" Then she saw David. "Oh, hey, you're the one at the hospital when Professor Hart got hurt."

David extended a hand. "I'm David Estok."

"Hannah Kolova. My dad was from Orre," she said, shaking his hand limply.

"I was going to ask if I could borrow your pokemon-"

"Sorry, but I've got a date in five." She plugged her earphones back in and turned away.

"Hannah," came a familiar voice David recognised. A muscle student ran up to meet them. "I'm early this time!" said Marcus, way too loud for the distance between them.

"Hey Marc," said David, giving a little wave.

"David, hi!" He bumped fists with David and turned to look at Ellen. "This must be your girlfriend."

Ellen turned red.

"Off-limits," said David. "We were just going to borrow Hannah's pokemon to read Furret's mind."

"And no," said Ellen suddenly, "we're not going on a double date."

"You read my mind!" said Marcus, scratching his head. "So, Hannah, won't you lend them the Duosion?"

"I don't like to leave it in the hands of-" She was cut off my Marcus laughing loudly.

"It can't hurt, can it?" asked Marcus, prying the pokeball from her belt and giving it to David. "Return in one hour," he added as Hannah glared at him. he dating couple quickly ran off, heading for the campus gate.

"Well," David said, "that was easier than I thought." He tossed the pokeball and it burst, releasing Hannah's Duosion.

"I've never seen a Duosion before," said Ellen.

_Indeed_, spoke a voice inside David's head. It sounded a bit like Marcus, but more...female. _I'm Psyche. here is my owner?_

"He's busy. You were lent to us." An itch formed at the back oh his head, but when he reached to scratch it, it disappeared.

_You speak the truth, David Estok_, said Psyche. _What do you want me to do?_

"I thought you could read my mind?"

_It is merely a means of self protection. I needed to know I was safe._

Ellen smiled. "That's pretty smart. I wish there were more psychic pokemon like you."

A series of sound David could only identify as laughter echoed through his head. _There are plenty of psychic pokemon like me_.

David took out his pokeball, and summoned Furret. The long-bodied pokemon yawned and stretched as it laid on the stone floor. "Furret, meet Psyche the Duosion."

Furret gave a mewling noise. _He's sleepy_, said Psyche.

"Come on," said Ellen, bending down to stroke his back. As her fingers brushed across the cream-and-brown fur, Furret perked up immediately.

"Psyche, you translate what he says," said David. The Duosion nodded. "Okay, Furret, what's your name?"

_Henry,_ came Psyche's voice.

"Your name is Henry?"

Furret neither nodded or shook its head to that. Instead, it froze like a statue and fell backwards, landing rigid on the floor. Duosion moved closer. _Something is wrong, David_.

David picked Furret up. "We need to get him to hospital. Ellen, go find Hannah!"

_No! Wait. I'm getting a transmission_. Psyche went quiet for a moment. Then David stumbled back, sweating.

_David!_ shouted a new voice. A voice he recognised. _It's me!_

"What is it?" asked Ellen, but to David her voice was far-off and dimmed out.

"Who are you?" David asked even he already knew the answer. But he had to be sure.

_It's me, David. It's your father._


	7. Episode 7: Third Hand

**Episode 7: Third Hand**

"Amelia, come out!" he shouted, grasping the wet hull of the wooden boat, and pulling it with all his might out of the water. "Bring your brother too!" he added, letting the wooden craft fall with a soft _thud_ onto the white-yellow sand of Lilycove Bay.

A young brunette girl with shining eyes ran towards him, and tackled his long legs. Henry Estok took a small step back as his daughter ploughed straight into him, almost sending him backwards onto the sand. "Whoa, Amelia, calm down!" He reached down and pulled her off his legs, setting her down on the beach. "Didn't I tell you to bring your brother?"

"He's sulking upstairs." She stuck a pout. Henry thought she looked a bit like her mother. "Again."

"What's wrong this time?" He looked at the white two-storey house behind Amelia, and thought he saw a shadow in one of the upper windows, right before a dark curtain was drawn over it. He grabbed a bucket of flailing Magikarp and walked towards the house.

Amelia shrugged. She followed close by, holding her father's fishing rod, his large hat draped over her head.

Henry went to the stairs, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "David! Are you alright?"

No reply. Amelia appeared next to him, and took the bucket from him. "I'll put this in the kitchen."

"Wait for me there. When your mother comes back home, tell her I'm here, okay?"

Amelia nodded, then crinckled her nose as she smelled the fish. "Yuck!" she said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Henry climbed the wooden steps, his boots clanking against the pine and hand grasping the cold metal bannister. "David?" He reached the top, and rapped his knuckles against the oak door. "David, this is your father."

The door opened a crack, and David peeked out. "Hi, dad," he whispered.

"What's wrong, David?" He pushed at the door, trying to make a wider opening, but David held on tight. "It's alright, David. You can let me in. I promise I won't do anything."

David hesitated, and then stepped back into the gloom of his bedroom. Henry swung the door open, and saw from the silver of illumination through the curtained window, a small, round shape wrapped in blankets and tucked into the bed. A pillow laid on the floor, close to the armchair in the room's corner.

"You been sleeping on the couch?" Henry moved a fraction toward the bed, but David slid in front of him.

"You'll hurt him."

"Him? Oh." Henry crouched down, eye level with David. "I can help him, David."

David shook his head.

"David, listen, how long have you been keeping him like this? Does your mother know?"

He shook his head again. "Why is Sentret sick?"

"I don't know, but what I know is that we have to take him to hospital, or he won't get any better, okay?" Hesitantly, David nodded.

"Come on, we'll take the car."

"Where are we going?"

"To the best hospital I know: East Hoenn University Hospital."

* * *

><p>"Thank you for coming here, Father," said David, flinging another stone and watching it skip across the lake.<p>

Father Klimn moved to stand next to him, his robes swaying in the wind. It was Sunday, and the park was completely deserted. Which was one of the reasons he had selected it as a rendezvous point with Father Klimn. "I'm sorry I'm late, David. The Archbishop wanted me to personally lead a pilgrimage in Petalburg."

"You were only a month late."

"Again, David, I'm sorry. Maybe you should have contacted another one of us instead."

"No, no," he said, pulling a photograph out of his jacket. "You were in Lavaridge back then. Have you seen this boy before?"

Klimn studied the portrait of Franklin Lament, and his eyes widened. "He's the one who took the cross."

"So he's capable of doing all this? I mean, with the cross, and the Breloom."

Father Klimn, to David's surprise, shook his head. "He's too mild for that. Franklin came from a poor family. He raided the church so he could have money to pay for his sick mother's medical treatment. She died two days after he was sent to juveline detention."

"Maybe he's still angry over his mother's death."

"Why would he attack the university, then? What is he here for?"

"As you probably know, Professor Coolidge and his team are developing a miracle drug that would reduce death rates of people and pokemon worldwide. It's also been theorised tone able to cure terminal diseases that are normally...well, terminal. So I'm guessing he has a second relative or a friend who's going to die."

"Very clever, David. Someone like you can always be of use. But I disagree. It simply cannot be Franklin Lament."

"Why?"

"Last year, Franklin was given a life sentence after killing three guards who worked at the juveline detention centre. You might have seen it in the papers. He's still there now."

David paused. "That's a pretty good reason he's not the masked boy. I've one last question: how do you remember so much about Franklin? It was years ago, right?"

"I had to read up some background for the court."

"Background?"

"I was getting to that. Recently, new evidence surfaced that tied Franklin to two inmate deaths , both of which were considered accidental. The court called the day before yesterday to ask me to testify."

David knew instantly what was coming. He'd seen it far too many times in movies and novels.

"Yes," said Father Klimn. He looked years older than when he had first stepped in beside David. "I'm afraid Franklin's going to get a death sentence."

* * *

><p>Officer Hendricks was waiting for David at the entrance to the hospital. His blading head was red from being in the sun, and the civilian clothes he wore made him look more like somebody's shady uncle. He saw David and waved him over.<p>

"No attacks in four weeks," said Hendricks. "Must be some kind of record, don't you agree, Estok?"

"Bug off, Hendricks. I've not time today for your 'interviews'. To be honest, you needn't sugarcoat the word 'interrogation'." He walked right by the policeman, pushing he glass door open and heading straight for the elevator.

"Respect your elders, Estok. I need to take a look at your Furret again."

"He's not with me right now." David pressed the call elevator button.

"Then where is he?"

"Come on, Hendricks. You solve crimes all the time. Figure it out." _Ding._ The elevator doors opened, and David stepped inside. He jabbed the close button almost instantly.

"Tell me, you son of a-" he saw the elevator doors start to close. "Hey, come back here!"

The doors shut, muffling Hendricks' voice. David sighed and pressed the button of the top floor. The elevator shot upwards, and he checked the time on his brand-new Xtransceiver. An hour to go before Professor Harper called a practical class.

The elevator opened into a dim corridor, the only sources of light being the sunlight coming in through the blinds. At the end of the corridor was a rusty steel door. Behind that door was one person David was sure didn't know the proper definition of "social".

Karl's Pawniard opened the door after he had knocked. The student himself stood at the edge of a long operating table, where the body bag with the dismembered Breloom was placed. The zip was open, and the corpse stuck out like a misfigured totem.

"Found anything new?"

Karl looked at him with his sunken eyes, and spoke in his usual rasp. "Actually, I did." He held up a pair of tweezers, and between them was a miniscule shard of rock. "I've done the research. Graveler."

"That's the same kind of rock in George Blunchuss' heart."

"Oh, that boy?" Karl set the rock on a small metal tray. "You found a rock in his heart too?" He scoffed.

"The owner of that Graveler is dead, too. She fell off the roof of the Administration and Management building."

"Shame you can't ask any questions," said Karl. "There _is _one more thing I need to show you." He showed David another test tube. A small hair was inside it. "It's probably from the owner of the DNA, too. Except this one is too damaged to get proper identification, if you'll try."

"Yeah, great and all, but...do you think it's possible that the DNA from the claws is fake?"

"'Fake' is a very broad term."

"What I mean is, the owner of the DNA was jailed two years ago, and he's still in there right now kind of fake."

"So you think someone's framing him."

"Exactly."

Karl bit his lower lip. "They'd need to scrape the guy with its claw. Maybe that's why the arm is separated from the body."

"...How long do you think it takes to fly from Lilycove to Lavaridge and back?"

* * *

><p>"And I thought you'd never call me," said the woman. This time, she was in civilian clothes.<p>

"You knew this would happen?" Professor Coolidge stroked David's Furret as it slept on his desk, snoring softly. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I have nothing I want to tell you, Sebastian. Plus, my bosses wanted you to see for yourself."

"How?"

"A very large satellite dish and a Solrock."

"...That's very clever. Where is he now?"

"We don't know. But we'll find him again if he ever wants to contact you or anyone else."

"I assume you're not gonna let it happen?"

"In contrary to your beliefs, Sebastian, we're not that cruel. We do what we must, not because we want to." She flicked her hair. "But not necessarily all the time."

"What about Franklin Lament?"

"He's in prison."

"David called me about that earlier. Why him?" He shook his head. "Unless this is one of those things you can't tell me about?"

"Actually, you should know this one." She smiled foxily, and opened the door. "I'm curious what might happen. And David probably won't figure it out without hints, wouldn't he?"

* * *

><p>David found Ellen in the canteen at the back of the hospital, Ziggy running around her table. "Before you say a word," she warned as he approached the table. "Professor Harper said it's okay to have pokemon in here, as long as they don't cause any trouble."<p>

"Well, Furret's not here anyway. What you eating?"

"Mareep stew. I fed Ziggy some and now he's running all over the place. Makes me wonder when he's going to evolve."

"It took Furret six years to."

"Ziggy is four. Hey, here comes Professor Hart."

Sure enough, David heard someone curse loudly and blatantly, and turned to see the young Professor being helped in by two orderlies. Professor Hart was still wearing a blue hospital gown, which fit him as well as a skirt would fit a man. "Get off me, I'm telling you! Just because I've a spine surgery doesn't mean I can't walk."

"I'm pretty sure it does mean that, Professor. It's not Dr. Xavier's fault that Breloom punched unnaturally hard. And to be honest, you _did_ fall off your bed."

Professor Hart scoffed and sat himself down on a bench with a grunt, and gave the orderlies a dismissive wave. "If you wanna be useful, go get me a Cola or something, alright?" He turned to David. "I'm sorry about that. Wait." He looked around quickly. "Coolidge isn't here, is he?"

"Haven't seen him today. Do you think he's gone missing again?"

"Check your room again. Maybe he's turned up there with another dead pokemon."

"What?" Ellen asked, loud and clear.

Professor Hart froze, and looked at David apologetically. "That was just a joke, my dear Ellen. Nothing to be serious about."

"David, are you keeping secrets from me?"

David swallowed. "Oh shit," he muttered. "I have to go now, Ellen. Sorry."

"Estok," she growled, "we need to talk."

Professor Hart looked sheepish. "Guess I'll have to explain."

David opened the cafeteria door and slipped out. "Sorry, talk to you guys later!" He shut the door and spun on his heel to walk out.

* * *

><p>"Hello Estok," said Officer Hendricks. "Ready for your "interview" now?"<p>

"Bugger off, I've got things to do." He pushed past the officer, and opened the glass door. The sky was a bright blue, and David could see the far-off Taillows gliding across the vast expanse, their chirping too faint to hear. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, letting a soft breeze blow across his face.

"Incoming!" someone shouted, and David opened his eyes just in time to see Marcus barrel straight into him, and through the glass entrance of the hospital. He opened his mouth to shout, but closed it when he saw what Marcus was holding. His Riolu laid limp and bruised in his arms, and a nurse was inspecting it.

Darren went back inside and caught up to Marcus. "Hey, what happened?"

Marcus seemed to have permanent scowl on his face. "Hey, David. We were training in the forest in the back, and...a tree fell on Riley."

"A tree fell on him?"

"Someone must have cut it down or something..." He shook his head as the nurse took Riolu and went into the service elevator. "I don't blame them though."

"He's gonna be fine, right?"

"He's been through worse."

"Then why are you worried?"

"There's been no attacks for a month, right?" To this David nodded. "So I was just thinking, what if he's changing his tactics? If he couldn't get to you, like you said he tried, why wouldn't he go after your friends?"

"If so, he'd go after Ellen first. Or attack me in the middle of the night."

"True," Marcus stroked his stubbled chin, thinking hard. "I don't blame you either, David. It's just that I'm worried about Riolu's safety."

"When does he evolve?"

"Riolu don't evolve when they reach a certain age. Their change has something to do with the bond with their trainers and stuff; all psychology mumble to me, I'm afraid."

David shrugged. "I don't think Dr. Hansen is going to let you anywhere near Riolu soon, so there's a bit of time. I also need someone to talk to, and I've some time before Professor Harper needs me to watch him cut open an Altaria."

"Where are we going?"

"You're pretty quick. You do sports science, right? Ever heard of using psychic broadcasts?"

"That's actually got nothing to do with sports science, but yeah, I've heard of them."

David smiled sheepishly. "Recently, my Furret - he's with Professor Coolidge right now - somehow received a psychic transmission. I want to know where it came from."

"You sure it's not some bloke's psychic pokemon having an accident?"

"I _know _it's not."

"You must know the sender, then."

"You're really quick, Marcus."

He shrugged. "Strategy games when I was a kid deserves the credit. Who sent the message?"

"My dad."

"Isn't your dad..." Marcus clammed up. David felt a sick turning in his stomach as he imagined what is father had experienced on that boat off the coast of Solara.

"It's okay," he said. "I can talk about it. Besides, I know he's alive now, so I'm going to find him and get him back."

"Do you...do you think he's on Solara?"

"I doubt it. Solara's been bought by some duke guy, and he's combed the island. Not a trace of him."

They reached the wide, flat plain in the middle of which Jared's radio tower was. The steel structure stuck up into the sky like Wailord's water spout, it's colour in contrast with the blue noon sky. David rapped on the door. "Jared, it's me, David!" He stood still for a moment, and when he was sure there was no reply, knocked again.

Marcus walked around the back of the station and out of sight. David kept knocking, and pressed his ear to the door. There was not a sound.

"Whoa, check this out!" Marcus exclaimed from the other side of the building. He had cupped his hands on the window, and was peeking at something through a gap between the blinds inside. He moved aside to let David look.

David peered inside the darkness, and at first thought there was nothing. Then he jumped back, falling hard onto the soft grass, and the not-so-soft soil underneath it. "What the hell?"

Marcus picked a large rugged rock off the ground. "We have to get in there."

David nodded, and moved out of the way. Marcus leaned back, rock in one outstretched arm, and flung it with all his force. The rock hit the window and went right through, creating a small hole. Marcus the raised his leg and kicked at the glass, sending shards tumbling down to to the grass. He stepped inside, and into the dark room.

David went in after him, being careful not to put the jagged pieces of glass hanging over him through his own head. In the dark he couldn't see, but the sound of a metal bat hitting Marcus's skull was unmistakable.

David turned to see his friend fall to the ground, limp, and was grabbed by the shoulders. The hands slammed him against the wall opposite the window, and he found himself next to Jared's Dedenne, which was pinned to the wall by a knife, quite dead. The barrel of Jared's pistol was pressed to the space between David's eyes, and his finger was on the trigger.

"You bastard!" Jared screamed, pushing the gun hard against David's face. "Get out of my life!"

"Jared, calm down-" The mere sight of Jared's gun made beads of sweat perspire from the back go his neck.

"I'm not bloody calming down, you mother-"

_Thonk!_ Jared fell to the floor, unmoving. Marcus stood behind him, holding the metal bat that had been previously used to subdue him. He reached behind his head and winced as he touched a spot. "This guy is seriously hardcore."

"Gee, thanks. You okay?"

"As okay as someone who just got clubbed in the freakin' skull with a baseball bat. It feels like a Rhyhorn ran me over!"

"I'm not even gonna ask how you know what that feels like. I'm sorry I brought you into this."

"Right now, I'm just happy to know you're still alive. That guy would've shot you through the face."

"Thanks again." David slowly reached up and grabbed the hilt of the knife that pinned the pokemon corpse to the wall. He tugged at it lightly. Then he grabbed the hilt with both hands and slid it out of the pokemon, letting the corpse drop to the floor with a _thud_.

"Whoever did this was one sick bastard," said Marcus, making a face at the bloodied Dedenne. "I mean, why would you kill someone's pokemon?"

"Many, many reasons," David said quietly. "Too many to guess."

Marcus exhaled loudly. "We should get some ropes."

"I just hope this is gonna end soon."

"Let's get working."

* * *

><p>"When are you going away again?" David asked his father, sitting next to him in the lobby of East Hoenn University Hospital.<p>

"In a few days. I've still yet to go to Sinnoh and see Celestic town." Henry ruffled David's hair and gave his son a smile. "When you're older, I'll take you and your mother."

"Don't lie, daddy," said David.

"What?"

David looked him in the eyes. "You're leaving mom, aren't you?"

Henry raised an eyebrow, saw a silver of confidence in his son, and sighed. "You're a very observant young man, aren't you? Yes, I'm leaving your mother, I'm afraid. It's very complicated adult stuff. Tell me, how did you figure it out?"

"I did what you taught me." David looked down at his lap. "Take in every detail, and ask why the detail is there."

"Good boy," Henry said. He ruffled his son's hair again. "I'm not going to Celestic town."

"Then where are you going?"

Henry winked. "That's a secret, David. Maybe one day you'll find out, maybe not. Either way, I'm leaving in a few days."

"Can I go with you?"

"Maybe when you're older. But not now. Right now, you need to stay with Amelia and your mother."

"Why?"

"It's...not important right now. Can you be strong for me and stay with your mother?"

David nodded curtly. _Full of confidence_, he thought, _just like Carmen. _"When are you coming back?" he asked.

Henry shrugged. "I'm not sure, actually. But I'll try to visit every few weeks, or every month when I have the time."

David said nothing to that.

* * *

><p>"Mmmmmmph!"<p>

David turned to see the bound and gagged Jared, wide-eyed and hyperventilating. Jared tugged at the heavy rope restraints, but it only made his wrists raw. His muffled screams were brushed aside as Marcus came into the room, and he furrowed his brow.

David carefully tore the duct tape off Jared's mouth - who still implicited pain - and waited. The radio operator coughed, and stared at him. "You're with him too? So all that last month…"

"We're not with him, Jared," said David, pulling up a chair to sit in opposite him. "In fact, we're working against him right now."

"I don't believe you. Why would you tie me up, then?"

"Maybe," Marus interrupted, "because you nearly bashed my head in with a metal bat. We needed to make sure you're not going to try and kill us after you wake up."

Jared paused, probably reflecting on his actions. "Alright," he said finally. "I promise to not murder you guys if you untie me."

Marcus went behind Jared's chair and began untying the ropes. David kept talking to him. "I'm assuming 'he' is the masked guy, right?"

Jared nodded.

"Can you remember why he's here, and what he did?"

"I-I can." Jared shifted from one buttock onto the other. "He wanted to transmit a signal with my radio tower."

"What was he transmitting?"

"I don't know. Maybe he was relaying something." Jared stood up, and walked over to the messy table where the radio equipment was, and began tinkering. "What made you come here though? I'm sure you don't listen to my broadcasts so you wouldn't know I'm taking a break from the program. Bastard made me do it."

It was spot on. As of the past few weeks, David hadn't been listening to Jared's daily radio program, and hadn't caught up with anything he'd said. "I was meaning to ask you about psychic transmissions."

"Is this for a project?"

An idea popped into his head. "Wait, is it possible that our masked marauder used this radio tower to send a psychic signal?"

"Let me check…" Jared switched on the cracked screen of his PC and scrolled through a list David didn't understand. "Ahh, I'm sorry to disappoint, but no. You'd need a psychic pokemon or a signal generator for that. What do you think he's done?"

"What about a relay? Has it been used as relay for psychic signals elsewhere?"

"Erm...yes, it has! Spot on! How did you know?" Jared licked his lips and tapped at the keyboard. "You want me to find the source?"

"Why not? How long do you need?"

"Few hours. And, hey, Marcus, I'm sorry I bashed your head in."

Marcus snickered. "Don't worry: we're even," he said with a wink. He opened the door. "Besides, I did break one of your windows." He disappeared out into the brightly lit outdoor.

David went to the door, and before he stepped out, turned back to look at Jared. There were bags under his eyes, and they seemed to stare at the computer screen soullessly. "Hey, you okay?"

Jared turned to look at him, and gave him a weak smile. "Just couldn't sleep, that's all. After what he did to...you know."

David glanced at the Dedenne corpse on the floor. "I'm sorry about him."

Jared shook his head. "It's not your fault. I'll bury him later."

"See you."

"Later."

* * *

><p>Professor Coolidge was ready to put down the phone receiver when the operator's voice came on again. Hastily, he put it back to his ear, and listened.<p>

"Good afternoon," said a male voice.

"Is this Darren Sirovsky?"

A pause. Then, "Yes, this is Darren Sirovsky. Who's calling?"

"My name is Sebastian Coolidge. I'm a professor at the University of East Hoenn. Is it possible that I meet with you at...at a place of your choice within this week?"

"I've a very tight schedule, professor. If you want to schedule a meeting you should tell my secretary-"

"Ah, no, no, I'm sorry if you misunderstood, Mr. Sirovsky. It's a very...dark and private matter I need to talk to you about."

The man went silent. He heard a rustling of papers, and then Sirovsky spoke again. "Where would you like to meet?"

"Wherever that is convenient for you."

"...I'll be at the university tomorrow, Professor. But the schedule is still tight, so I might be late."

"That's fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Of course." Coolidge heard the tone go flat, and put the receiver back down in its cradle. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Did I do well?"

The woman turned away from the window, having been previously looking across the campus through it. "You did okay. Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to eat you or anything. You've got hundreds of miles between you."

"And you're sure David will be okay?"

"If he is who I think he is, he'll make it." She looked back out the window. "Speaking of David, he's coming here right now, with that other boy. What's his name? Oh, yes, Marcus. I should leave."

"How do I know you've been telling me the truth?"

"You'll know soon." She opened the door to his office and walked out. Coolidge spun in his chair. Exactly fifteen seconds later, someone knocked on the door. _Here goes nothing, _he thought.

* * *

><p>"Come in!" Professor Coolidge called from inside the room, and David swung the door open. The office looked exactly the same as it was before, all the books lined perfectly on the shelves and the tabletop polished to the point of reflectivity.<p>

"Professor, I've found the source of the transmission."

Coolidge raised an eyebrow. "You have?"

"Well, technically I haven't, but Jared at the radio station is working on that. Apparently the masked boy used Jared's tower to relay a signal from somewhere else, and into Furret. Oh, where's Furret?"

Professor pulled open a drawer in his desk, and David saw Furret curled up inside. He prodded it and Furret leaped into his arms, purring. Professor Coolidge suddenly looked a few years older.

"You okay, professor?"

"I'm fine." Coolidge stood up and walked over to a file cabinet, and took out a rolled-up map. He spread it on the table. "I assume you got him to text you?"

"He has my number."

"Well, then he'll give you coordinates and we'll put them on this map here."

"Oh, and, Ellen knows about Starfish."

"Now that's interesting. How did she find out. Did she lock you in her closet and torture you until you spat it out?"

"What? No, Professor Hart said too much in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't see Ellen."

"That's unfortunate. I thought Johnathan would've learned better by now."

David felt his Xtransciever vibrate. He raised it and checked the inbox. "Got it."

"Read it to me."

David rattled off the numbers, while Coolidge got a marker and began highlighting the longitude and latitude lines. He then made a square where the rough numbers pointed to. "What are the decimals again?"

David told him.

Coolidge moved the marker over to where he thought was right, and froze. "David, look at this."

David looked over at the map, where Coolidge had drawn a big red "X" in marker, just off the coast of Evergrande. Right on the small, flower shaped island called Solara.

* * *

><p>The man shrouded in shadow picked up his ringing phone, and stared at the name. Long ago, he had known the person calling, but circumstances had pulled them apart. His skin tingled with a feeling, and he searched for a word - nostalgia, that was it. He pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.<p>

"They're coming your way. Be ready," said the woman on the line.

"I know, I know. I've been preparing for it the moment your agent mailed me about it. This is going to be smooth. Actually, maybe not. I'm getting a bit rusty, stuck doing all this paperwork."

She snorted. "You've gone soft, haven't you? Did Interpol beat that into you? I never should have let you go there."

"Relax," he replied, "nothing's changed. I'm still the same old me."

"You better prove that soon."

"Oh, it'll be very soon. Do I need to take our special guest too?"

"No, I'll handle that."

"Very well."

There was a long silence, neither of them wanting to hang up just yet. "Don't you have work to do?" he finally asked.

"I do, actually. See you later."

"See you later." He put the phone down, and began whistling. There was a job to be done, and he would do it to the best of his ability. It was in his blood. To him, failure was not an option. He would show them. He would show them all.

And it was to begin in a few hours.


End file.
